GPA vs. Life Skills: Why Teens Need Both to Build a Successful and Fulfilling Future

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Here’s a checklist of all the life skills a high schooler must be exposed to before he or she is sent off to college. Why a checklist? High achieving youth are fast becoming the biggest “at-risk” group of the world. With a weak resilience muscle and a lack of understanding of basic life’s problems, these over-sheltered and over-protected children are not being equipped to face a real world full of unexpected challenges.

In some cases, they’re not doing much better than children living in foster care and poverty and those coming from homes with incarcerated parents. Excessive pressure to excel is creating a climate of hopelessness and stress in affluent children where in some cases children coming from a background of trauma and lack of resources are doing much better.

We need to ensure that our children can answer all these questions for themselves as they turn into adults. Are they goal setters, do they have a vision for their future, how do to act under pressure, are they credible and have strong personal values, do they always do the right thing, and are they compassionate towards themselves and others?

If you’ve a high schooler at home, you know their life is filled with Snapchat filters, Internet memes, YouTube videos, AP courses, Video games, Texting and planning their next party.

There’s also the pressure to work on Case studies, Side hustles, build cool apps, check out the latest shoes on Instagram, keep up with sport scores, attend local hackathons, volunteer, and live in a spectacular way that builds a juicy college resume.

But did you know that they also need unconditional love and acceptance, empathy, downtime including plenty of silent time, sleep and deep meaningful connections to thrive?

Here’s what colleges are always looking for:

* Teens who can advocate for themselves and can ask for help.
* Teens who’ve been exposed to literature.
* Teens who can seek and take critical feedback.
* Teens who’re capable of having a verbal, face to face conversation.
* Teens who can persuade, compare, and debate.
* Teens who can express their interests and opinions in a civil manner.
* Teens who’re open to learning new things and are curious to explore.

Below are free articles that help us understand how children can be molded to become well rounded and independent teens.

Check them out. 

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“I have never understood the importance of having children memorize battle dates. It seems like such a waste of mental energy. Instead, we could teach them important subjects such as How the Mind Works, How to Handle Finances, How to Invest Money for Financial Security, How to be a Parent, How to Create Good Relationships, and How to Create and Maintain Self-Esteem and Self-Worth. Can you imagine what a whole generation of adults would be like if they had been taught these subjects in school along with their regular curriculum?”
~ Louise L. Hay, You Can Heal Your Life

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