With a rise in new careers from content creators to AI specialists, parents today are now looking towards unique skills for their children.
Though boomers and the silent generation were insistent on up-skilling in technology, maths and IT, the new generation has placed other ‘soft skills’ above these.
And now, it seems that parents are future-proofing their kids by encouraging them to learn soft skills rather than hard skills. According to a new study, these life skills are more important especially as they accept an uncertain future.
The study, which surveyed 3,000 parents found that only 29% listed maths and data analysis as a key skill, whereas 38% felt resilience and the ability to cope through change was the most important skill to learn.
Results also showed 38% were concerned with their children developing interpersonal and social skills in the ever evolving world.
The survey which is the annual Modern Families Index survey carried out by Bright Horizons’ UK also found that today’s parents are aware of the unpredictable future of their kids. This means they are ready for jobs that probably don’t even exist yet!
Being prepared for life in general was a priority for parents, with one person saying: “Having interpersonal skills and resilience helps her to understand when she should say no to something. She will live in a world where no one will ever be able to switch off. She needs to be able to create boundaries and show her worth at work so as to not be overlooked by AI.”
Caroline Wright, Director of Early Childhood at Bright Horizons UK commented: “These findings amplify the importance of the uniquely holistic educational approach practised in our nurseries.
“There is a rapidly growing need for parents to feel their child’s emotional development is being supported as they mature, so by introducing the concept of positive mental health from an early age, we can help children feel safe and secure and be open to learning.”
Let’s face it — we didn’t know you could make a career out of influencing and content creating 20 years ago, so maybe these parents are onto something?