A new book says parents can help children to develop the skills they’ll need for life by working together

Words Holly Kirkwood

New book 100 Things To Learn Before You’re 10, aims to provide a roadmap to help parents and their children navigate the obstacles and misunderstandings that often arise during the first ten years of little ones’ lives – and to give kids a lot of skills which will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.

Author Gail Hugman has used her decades of experience as a teacher to show parents how they can help their children to navigate early childhood without battling the whole time, and then later to complement what they are learning at school. The aim is to prevent and resolve common childhood problems that she has seen come up repeatedly in her 40 years of teaching.

The book gets to the heart of the difference between wanting children to just DO something, and actually working with the children to want to do things for themselves, from homework to eating their supper and this is a really useful approach.

If they can learn self-confidence and assertiveness, Gail says, children are more switched on and engaged throughout their days both  at home and school. And kids then grow up into confident, motivated and happy little people, armed with tools that they will need for life – for coping with both success and failure.

Using games, anecdotes, visualisations and exercises that are both fun and engaging for parents and children, the book has a lot in it. And if 100 things seems like a large number, well, it is and you don’t have to feel you need to get through them too quickly – you have ten years after all, right?

Each chapter starts with a short story about an issue that parents and children will easily relate to, then explain the concepts at play and breaks them down even further with practical tools and tips to take away.

“It’s so inspiring to see children flourish and become excited when they start learning the skills in the book and of course the whole family reaps the rewards too.

“When children become willing participants in their self-development life becomes easier for them, especially when they understand the reasons behind these essential concepts. They grow in confidence and self-esteem because they know that they have the tools to handle school, family life, the playground and beyond”, adds Gail.

Read more book reviews at www.absolutely-mama.co.uk