Soft skills are the social and emotional skills that enable us to communicate effectively and establish healthy relationships with people around us. Soft skills are less tangible and harder to quantify, such as etiquette, getting along with others, listening and engaging in small talk. Soft skills are a broad set of skills, competencies, behaviors, attitudes, and personal qualities that enable one to effectively navigate their environment, work well with others, perform well, and achieve their goals. Most of our schools focus on intellectual and academic skills from preschool itself. Skimming back on academics in the early years is not about lowering your standards. It’s all about laying the good and solid groundwork to make sure they are well equipped to achieve those standards.

Social skills, communication skills, and self-control should be the areas of emphasis in the preschool years.  The skills developed in good preschool programs predict later success in life, stable relationships and occupational success, which require good social and communication skills. Soft skills are important and schools have major role in shaping them. Children need these skills to not only achieve success in their school life but also to develop future learning skills and become happy and compassionate adults.

Today’s world is surely getting harder to succeed in. So as parents, we must ensure positive development in our children’s first years. Children should be taught soft skills from the beginning to help them to learn the basic communication skills and also co-operate in school and develop into mature and confident human beings. The primary responsibility lies with the parents to develop Soft Skills in children.  They need to teach children the basic manners and other necessary live skills.  The school also plays a huge role in helping a child to express himself and learn the important live skills starting from personal and social skills including time management.  We should be patient while teaching our children how to behave with others and be inspiring examples. Children learn things more quickly when they are taught informally.

Children who lack soft skills cannot control their emotions like anger and frustration.  They are unable to express themselves and feel isolated.  They may also find it difficult to manage and complete their task in time.  Problems in successful communication and working together as a team may also appear.

The better approach to learning is through playing, exploring and socializing. Children who lack soft skills tend to exhibit more anxiety and self esteem issues. There is no doubt that academics are also important for success. Like all parents, we want our kids to succeed in life. The university degree isn’t a guarantee for success anymore. Today, employment and productivity depend not only on academic and technical skills but also on soft skills.