Contributed by Bridget Wright, Catalogs.com Info Guru

When parents bestow their wisdom upon their kids in their formative years, their hopes hinge on their children listening to them and avoiding costly life mistakes.

Although children are extremely anxious to find their own place in the world, the benefits they can receive from listening to the pearls of wisdom from mom and dad are invaluable. For most kids, character education is an ongoing process of experiencing and reacting to every day life. Of all the invaluable lessons in life that kids can adapt, there are 10 life lessons for kids that can be applied to most any situation they will encounter.

10. Learn to follow directions

The world revolves around an organized system. Not following that system can be chaotic and frustrating for many. If your child learns early on how to understand and follow directions, they will be able to adequately cope in most any situation that they’re faced with.

9. Reaping what you sow

For every action, there will always be a consequence to follow, whether that result is negative or positive. Children need to understand that whatever they choose to do in life or in their daily activities, there will always be a consequence for it. The results don’t always have to be dire, but can be pleasant which is why making good decisions whenever possible is far better in the long run.

8. Dealing with peer pressure

Children deal with peer pressure and adults do too. The only difference with adults is that the peer pressure that they often experience is in social situations minus the pushing and shoving that kids do. When children learn early on how to deal with negative pressure, bullies in school and how to think for themselves, they can grow and mature their thinking each time they’re faced with a grave situation.

7. Living honestly

Honesty is really the best policy when dealing with daily living. When children learn this life lesson early on, they can definitely avoid a lot of awkward situations.

6. Defending yourself

Very much akin to peer pressure, when your child learns to defend themselves, they have learned something very valuable. However, as an adult, learning to defend yourself goes well beyond the physical and leans over into knowing how and when to speak up on your own behalf. Whenever there is a misunderstanding with adults, they need to be able to defend themselves and tell their side of the story.

5. Relax

Learning to relax and take life in stride is very important in life. Why? Because it keeps stress levels low and promotes a better quality of life. Children learn early on how to play and interact with other children, which is great, but as adults, they begin to lose their spontaneity and zest for life. Teach your children how to practice relaxing and being calm in situations and they’ll develop healthier and more beneficial coping mechanisms.

4. Embrace diversity

Children need to learn to accept people for who they are and how different they are from you. When they learn to celebrating other people’s differences, they will be able to better appreciate other cultures, age groups, races, religions and the opposite gender. Diversity will be all around them as adults, so exposing them early in life to various diversities can be very helpful.

3. Selecting stresses

Everyday living is certainly full of stressors that can be overwhelming. Teaching your child how to pick their battles early on can be very helpful. Teach them to not to try to fight everything that they don’t agree with, especially if it’s not worth the energy. When they carefully choose what they want to be engaged in or focused on, they will be better prepared to promote all of their energies for finding an amenable solution to their life’s challenge(s).

2. Treat people with respect

Respect for others starts at home. When the child is shown respect, they learn how to treat others with the same. Likewise, when they’re shown how to respect other people, they will begin to understand that everyone doesn’t think, talk or act alike. These differences should not be frowned on or dismissed. By respecting other people, they will learn how to broaden their level of thinking and be able to appreciate others. Respecting other people also includes disagreeing without resorting to violence and being able to appreciate that another person may choose to do something differently than them, and that’s alright.

1. Trust yourself

Trust your inner voice and that you will make the right decisions at the right times. Developing that inner trust is a key component that comes as a result of instilling confidence in the child from a very early age. This gut feeling will surface at the right time when the child needs it at any point in life, and they will be able to rely on the foundational teachings that they received as a young child.

Learning how to adapt to life’s situations early can give a child a concrete foundation to build upon. Although the children may not appreciate these life lessons until later in life, but starting to impart them at an early age can certainly prove to be advantageous for them as they cross different stages in their lives.