A few months ago, we questioned more than 200 parents on the topic of “Education, your kids and you?” and it is evident that education is one of your daily concerns. This topic takes up more and more space. Many of you feel that it used to be easier for our parents’ generation, that they used to ask themselves fewer questions.
It must be said that between the 60s and 80s, our parents had “the” bible: Laurence Pernoud’s renowned J’élève mon enfant (I Raise My Child), which put the emphasis on early childhood.
Then, as soon as we had reached the age of reason, they would adopt one of three parenting styles developed by Diana Baumrind, namely:
- Authoritarian (restrictive and punitive parents)
- Democratic (strict and reactive parents)
- Permissive (sensitive and lenient parents)
It is, as Diana Baumrind points out, “the extent to which parents intentionally foster individuality, self-regulation, and self-assertion by being attuned, supportive, and acquiescent to their children’s specific needs and demands.”
Today, we hear a lot less about parenting styles, if at all, whereas pedagogy and education styles are on the rise – parents tend to think a lot more about how to educate their children.
Beyond the environmental challenges facing our planet and questions about the place of new technologies in the daily life of our children, we, at Soft Kids, think that the world of tomorrow will be very different from how it is today, and like many parents, we think that we need to help our kids prepare for it.
The problem is that we all live in the fast lane and being a good parent in the 21st century seems to require at least a Bachelor in Education Sciences!
Between the Montessori and Steiner methods, positive education and alternative schools, it’s easy to get lost if you’re not already feeling guilty about not giving your child the best education they can get. From their very first bottle-feeding, early learning weeks to their teenage years and high school options, there’s a lot to stress about – and this is actually a thing, as our survey shows that 59% of you are concerned about your children’s adaptability and future.
The Soft Kids founders are going through that too, with their 6 children aged between 2 and 12!
According to the OECD, the average validity of someone’s expertise decreased from 30 to 5 years between 1987 and 2019. However, 85% of the jobs of 2030 do not exist yet. With this in mind, we have decided to surround ourselves with a team of experts in order to build a tool for children of reading age to improve their Soft Skills (behavioral skills), which are essential for their future employability – thus rising to the challenge of
Indeed, what’s more important for children than feeling comfortable in themselves, so that they can take up the challenges of their daily lives and the trials and tribulations of the 21st century?
Now, the World Economic Forum has listed the behavioral skills your child needs for their future: problem solving, creativity and collaboration are among the essential soft skills of today and tomorrow.
When we know that 65% of today’s schoolchildren will have positions that do not yet exist, and that 66% of French people think that the National Education system does not offer proper training for the world of tomorrow, it is easy to understand the importance of investing in our children’s soft skills.
But as parents, we do not always have the time or the resources to clean out the bookshops and read all the educational books which will give us the key to our children’s success.
This is why Soft Kids develops family programs aiming to improve all of your children’s necessary skills, which will make them feel good about themselves and prepare them for the world of tomorrow.
To that end, our app works as a digital library with programs for every soft skill. Each program comprises 10 modules with videos, games, quizzes and challenges for the whole family.
What’s more, parents can track their kids’ answers and progress with their own interface as well as receive tips and advice on daily soft skill improvement.
Our first program, “finding one’s feet” will be available for download in a few weeks and will give you all the keys to increase your children’s self-confidence.
Soon, we will tell you about a recent study published in the peer-reviewed academic journal The Psychological Bulletin, which suggests that it only takes us… 60 years to reach maximum self-confidence. But rest assured, with Soft Kids, we sure plan on helping your kids get there before they turn 60!
Solenne
Soft Kids Founder
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