Teenagers are often thought to be lacking in important life skills necessary for success, but it can be difficult for parents to determine what those skills are and how to support their development. Additionally, the adolescent brain is still developing and may not fully mature until early adulthood. So, what can parents do to help their teens progress in developing the top 10 life skills?

One approach is to focus on making "headway" or progress in these skills, while also being sensitive to individual differences in temperament, learning style, and circumstances. However, it's important for parents to avoid lecturing or preaching to their teens about these skills. Instead, they can use the following list as a guide and context for productive conversations with their teens:

1. Motivation for Personal Goals: This skill includes initiative, engagement, willingness to try new things, persistence, work ethic, commitment, and a drive to pursue personal interests and development. However, parents should be aware that their teen's passion may lie in something that doesn't align with their own goals.

2. Executive Functioning Skills: These skills include planning ahead, organization, execution and completion of projects, informed decision-making, judgment, concentration, and self-monitoring. Keep in mind that half of the neuronal connections in the prefrontal cortex are lost during early adolescence, so some inconsistency may be expected.

3. Independent Living Skills & Self-Reliance: This skill involves self-management with regard to money, cooking, laundry, transportation, and job experience. Parents should insist on these skills, even if their teen protests.

4. Academic Skills: Basic skills for age-appropriate educational goals, intellectual curiosity, good study habits, and a value for learning. Parents should prioritize education, even if school performance is inconsistent during adolescence.

5. Physical Fitness & Healthful Habits: This skill involves valuing and self-care with respect to exercise, sleep, eating, health maintenance, and limitations on risk-taking, substance use, and media overuse. While parents can't control everything, they can provide resources and consequences for problem behavior.

6. Emotional Awareness, Reflection & Regulation: This skill involves recognizing and appropriately expressing feelings, empathy for others, controlling impulses, and coping with negative emotions. Due to hormonal changes, teens may experience mood swings, so parents should focus on being supportive coaches.

7. Social Skills: This skill involves sizing up interpersonal situations, cooperating with others, communication skills, conflict resolution skills, gaining perspective, and accurate self-appraisal in groups. Teens may practice these skills in other pro-social settings outside of the family.

8. Relationship Skills & Values: This skill involves maintaining relationships over time, developing friendships, conversational ability, balancing needs of self and others in romantic relationships, and intimacy skills. Parents can encourage, model, and provide a rich web of relationships for their teens, including those with wise elders.

9. Moral Behavior, Integrity & Character: This skill involves standing up for what's right, conscientiousness, and responsibility for oneself and the less fortunate. While teens may take risks and break rules, they also tend to show attachment to their own sense of what's right.

10. Spirituality & Purposeful Life: This skill involves accepting and coping with adversities, emotional resilience, drive for a meaningful life, and valuing reflection and growth over time. Patience and parental role modeling are key to developing this skill.

For parents looking for a safe and supportive environment for their teens to develop these skills, Swift Nature Camp offers a teen leadership program that can help. The program is staffed by experts and provides a structured setting for teens to grow and thrive. By focusing on making headway in the top 10 life skills and being sensitive to individual differences, parents can support their teens in becoming successful adults. Learn how your 16 &17 year old can be part of the Teen Leadership Program