Orphans and Vulnerable Children - CRIN

The Importance of Life Skills

Handout 1 - Module 4 Topic 2

Skills necessary to have a good relationship with yourself:

 The ability to cope with and control emotions. Emotions, such as anger and fear, are usually

reactions to a situation and may cause regret if they are acted upon impulsively.

 Self-esteem. Often vulnerable children lose self-esteem because of their situation.

They may be intimidated easily or develop inferiority complexes. These children need

their self-esteem boosted in order to know that they are important and highly valued.

 Assertiveness. Assertiveness involves knowing what you want and why you want it, and

being able to take necessary action.

 Self awareness. All children need to be aware of their individual abilities and talents; and

to develop them, knowing that each individual is unique, created in God’s image.

 The ability to cope with stress. Many children live in very stressful situations which can be

destructive to their growth and development.

Skills necessary to have a good relationship with others:

 Good social manners. Orphans must often adapt to living with new families. In order to

adapt successfully, they must know how to behave, how to communicate, how to respond

to stressful situations, and how to deal with people from different backgrounds.

 Friendship formation. Forming friendships is an important social skill for children. Peer

friendships give children support, guidance and experience in sharing and communicating.

 Peer resistance. Children need peer resistance skills to enable them to stand up for their

own values and beliefs in the face of conflicting ideas and practices from peers.

 Effective communication. Children need to know how to express themselves clearly and

appropriately during interactions with other people in any given circumstances.

Communication is an especially important, as it is the essence of human relationships.

 Negotiation. Negotiation involves the ability to see both sides of a specific issue and agree

to a resolution without compromising one’s principles or becoming confrontational.

 Non-violent conflict resolution. When involved in an argument or dispute, children should

be encouraged to remain calm and avoid the use of violence and emotional blackmail.

Skills necessary for making good decisions:

 Critical thinking. Children face many contradictory messages, expectations and demands

from teachers, guardians and peers. They need to be able to analyse their choices, weigh

up the advantages and the disadvantages and decide what is best for themselves. Children

need to think through situations adequately so that they may make informed decisions.

 Creative thinking. This involves devising different means of dealing with a situation. It

involves coming up with new ideas and trying out more than one way to solve a problem.

 Decision making. Children may be confronted with serious demands, which require them

to make appropriate decisions. They must be able to prioritise and weigh up the advantages

and disadvantages of a course of action.

 Problem solving. Problem solving is the ability to identify, cope with and find solutions to

difficult and challenging situations.

(^336) Appendix 1, Handouts Guide to Mobilising and Strengthening Community-Led Care for Orphans and Vulnerable Children