Life enhancing programs such as those provided by Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas help in exposing kids to essential life skills beyond academics. The programs train children to be self-sufficient, confident and resilient in the face of real life situations. They help children develop positive behaviors and leadership skills.
Listed below are the benefits of life enhancing programs for Kids:
- Social Interaction: The programs teach children how to form positive interactions with different kinds of people. It helps them make friends and learn the value of team work when undertaking group tasks. These abilities make them confident while interacting with others and also help them understand other people’s perspectives.
- Self-Reliance: Children are encouraged to be self-reliant at the clubs by completing tasks by themselves and taking responsibility for their actions. For example, programs like Passport to Manhood encourage young boys to participate in activities that make them more responsible and accountable for their actions.
- Time-Management: Programs like Goals for Growth help kids learn how to complete tasks within a given time. Activities included are developing new skill sets, serving others, improving their school, self-improvement and more. They understand the value of allocating time for different activities throughout the day and completing the same within the given time.
- Decision-Making: From an early age, it is important to guide children about the value of being able to make decisions as this will affect future decisions related to their careers and life. The programs offered help in instilling the value of decision making and teaching kids step by step how to make small decisions while progressing to bigger ones.
- Financial Management: The best time to teach kids the basics of financial management is from the moment they can understand basics such as addition and subtraction. Through dynamic sessions, mentoring opportunities, field trips and participatory activities at the club, children are encouraged to learn the importance of budgeting and saving.
- Resilience and Adaptability: The club offers programs like the SMART Moves program (Skills Mastery and Resilience Training) for helping members develop assertiveness, refusal skills, role playing and engaging in responsible behavior. This helps them overcome peer pressure and develop self-control when faced with situations that are not in their best interest.
- Learn the Value of Healthy Habits: The healthy lifestyle programs offered at the club help children learn how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Interactive sessions that consist of activities and discussions that reinforce healthy habits are held. Children are given tips and lessons on physical fitness, healthy food choices, mental health, positive relationships and developing positive recreational habits.
Boys and Girls Clubs of Central Texas offers life enhancing programs such as good character and citizenship and healthy lifestyle programs. Details about what each program consists of can be found on the club’s website.
“A leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.” -John Maxwell
Leadership skills refer to skills required by a leader to manage and motivate a team towards a common goal. These skills include reliability, empathy, dependability, creativity, positivity and more. Effective leaders build strong teams, ensure projects are accomplished on time, improve employee engagement and create a supportive environment at work.
Listed below are the top leadership skills that kids should develop:
- Decision-Making Skills: A good leader is one who can make quick and effective decisions. The decisions can be made on the basis of reasoning or intuition depending on the facts of the situation. Decision making requires a leader to analyze and interpret a situation properly, evaluate options, anticipate outcomes and navigate risks.
- Team-Building: A leader knows how to work with others individually and as a team. Delegation of duties to members of a team as per their competence and skill- level is an important part of leadership. It is important for kids to develop team building skills as this helps them grow and excel in academic and professional setup in future.
- Dependability: A dependable leader is one who can be trusted and relied upon by other team members. The basis for developing a high level of dependability is to keep promises and follow through with plans. A leader who can be depended upon lays the foundation for a resilient team that can wade through challenges with ease.
- Problem-Solving: Problems are the building blocks for success in every industry. The key to solving any problem is to learn from it and formulate strategies for managing it. Good leaders know how to stay strong in the face of problems in any situation and work towards combating the same effectively.
- Integrity: Integrity is an invaluable leadership skill; a good leader is truthful and honest in all dealings. He has strong values and is concerned about the welfare of everyone. Kids with leadership skills such as integrity make ethical choices.
- Communication Skills: Leaders possess communication skills that make them effective speakers and assertive individuals. They are quick to build rapport with others and are likely to develop lasting relationships. Other important components of communication skills are persuasion skills, transactional skills and the ability to influence others.
- Planning Skills: Leaders need planning skills to ensure tasks and projects are accomplished on time. Important aspects of planning skills are organizing skills, project management skills, action planning, project planning and risk management.
Boys & Girls Clubs of Central Texas organize activities to help kids develop leadership skills in Killeen, TX. To know more about leadership skills among kids, visit 703 N. 8th Street, Killeen, TX - 76541. You can also call at (254) 699 – 5808.