A National Campaign by Committee For Children
Our goal is to advance access to programs and services that build young people’s essential life skills as part of primary prevention and wellness promotion in a full continuum of support.
What Are Life Skills?
Life Skills and Primary Prevention
Primary prevention is an important part of a continuum of support for children and young people because it provides upstream support that builds protective factors and mitigates risk factors before a crisis can occur.
Access to primary prevention includes helping all young people develop life skills, as having these skills is an important part of promoting wellness, safety, and readiness for the future. Helping all young people develop age-appropriate, foundational personal and interpersonal life skills—such as problem-solving, self-discipline, and effective communication—is a critical component of effective primary prevention for many of the pressing challenges they face today.
Research- and evidence-based programs and services that build these life skills have been shown to reduce symptoms of externalizing challenges, such as aggression and bullying, as well as reduce symptoms of internalizing challenges, such as anxiety and depression. Building life skills also promotes resilience and well-being and can lead to improved school success and college and career readiness.
A vast majority of parents support teaching these skills in schools, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Primary Prevention and Violence
At Futures Without Violence, we consider primary prevention an essential way to reduce and even prevent violence and harmful effects of trauma before they happen. When children and their parents are supported with access to services and build protective factors against stress, trauma and violence into their lives and communities, violence goes down.
Interested in learning more or want to join the campaign?
Head to the campaign website at AllKidsSafeAndWell.org and check out the one pager on building skills as primary prevention for youth.
