Why Teaching Collaboration Matters (and 3 Surprisingly FUN Ways to do it)
teaching 'soft skills' is often just as important as the hard-core academic ones
You’ve probably seen it before-- a group project turns into chaos, a simple sibling activity leads to arguing, or your child struggles to work as a team.
Many parents assume collaboration is just about ‘getting along,’ but it’s actually a skill that needs to be taught—just like reading or math.
Why Collaboration is an Essential Skill (But Often Overlooked)
Soft skills matter. They help kids become better learners… more valuable employees… more capable entrepreneurs… thought leaders… and kinder people.
Collaboration is a key skill for life and work. Human skills like creativity and collaboration can’t be replaced by AI or by mechanical skills mastery.
Employers and universities now value teamwork, problem-solving, and communication even more than memorized knowledge. AND… strong collaboration skills also help kids build friendships, confidence, and leadership abilities.
The challenge is helping your child learn them alongside the long list of tangible skills.
Liz, for example, is focused on helping her two kids learn the material in their science unit—tangible skills in using scientific notation to measure and predict outcomes.
But her kids—Ben and Emma—who are close in age and work on the same science curriculum, are arguing and not able to get through even the basics of the experiment, much less figure out the correct answers.
Liz is at her wit’s end. Her goal is simple. Teach her kids and ensure they gain skills mastery. But she can’t get past all the disagreements and power struggles.
Liz isn’t alone. Many parents focus on academics, assuming that soft skills like collaboration, communication, and problem-solving will develop naturally. But these skills are just as important—and need just as much attention.
It’s easy to tell your kids to work together, be helpful, or get along.
But collaboration is more than this and kids don’t automatically know how to do it—it’s a learned skill.
But not a skill that requires formal lessons. You can teach your child collaboration skills through everyday activities that help them practice how to be good team players, problem solvers, and communicators.
Just imagine…
If Ben and Emma were able to work together—how much more harmonious would the day be? AND how much more would they learn?
Like Liz, many parents assume teamwork is something kids just ‘pick up’ over time. But developing the skill requires intentional practice.
In this article, I explore 3 powerful, fun, and easy ways you can help encourage collaboration at home through everyday activities.
3 Powerful Ways to Teach Collaboration at Home
First, let me define collaboration: Collaboration isn’t just ‘getting along.’ It means learning how to listen, share ideas, divide responsibilities, and solve problems together.
While it might feel difficult to get kids like Ben and Emma to start collaborating on a science project, it’s easier than you might think to help kids learn teamwork.
Even little kids innately want to collaborate—they just need support doing it. They want to participate in household activities like feeding the family pet, making food, and watering plants. They want to help their parents. They want to hear the same story read the same book or watch the same movie as their sibling. They want to do things together.
You can use that innate desire to work together and help your child learn how to do it better.
So how do you actually help your child build these skills? It turns out you don’t need structured lessons—just small, meaningful activities woven into everyday life.
Cooking together
Cooking is a built-in teamwork challenge—it requires planning, dividing tasks, and adapting to mishaps.
Want to make it fun? Choose a favorite recipe to spark enthusiasm.
Then, assign roles—one child measures, another stirs, another sets the table.
This simple activity builds communication, delegation, and problem-solving skills—without feeling like a ‘lesson.’
Ask your child to help you solve small problems that come up in the process.
Missing an ingredient? Ask your child what they think you should do.
Did your kid overfill some muffin cups while others are empty? Have them brainstorm a way to fix it.
Ask your child to collaborate on meal planning. Help them learn negotiating skills and reasoning skills by having them think through the requirements of a well-balanced meal, the budget, and the ingredients you have to work with.
Create fun food challenges between siblings with a set of ingredients to see what meal they can invent and discuss.
Through the activity of cooking, your child will be building skills in communication, delegation, adaptability, and problem-solving.
If Ben and Emma had these skills, they might be able to discuss the science experiment calmly, assign roles, delegate, problem-solve when things don’t go as planned, and rely on each other to learn. Their core science skills would also improve more quickly because they would be able to work together.
Socratic discussions and debates
Help your child learn to collaborate by intentionally starting thoughtful discussions and even debates. Try throwing out even a crazy idea like, “Should we all have plastic lawn ornaments to decorate our lawns or use the space for growing food? Or a thought-provoking question like, “Should kids design their own learning plan?”
Create a relaxed physical space away from devices to help your child focus—the family dinner table, a walk in nature, while working on an art project together…
Encourage what I call active listening—meaning make a point of really hearing your child’s response and engaging with it. Help your kids summarize what the last speaker said and acknowledge it before responding.
Try using a debate format where each person argues a different side of an issue, even if they disagree with their assigned position. It can be a silly or serious topic.
The point is to help your child practice their communication skills—speaking, listening, adjusting to other perspectives, negotiating, and critical thinking. And respecting others’ point of view.
Board games, DIY escape rooms, and scavenger hunts
Games of almost every kind require teamwork under pressure. Kids need to communicate, strategize, adjust, and delegate tasks to win.
Games create both the pressure to take effective action, but also the inspiration and motivation to engage and work together. Escape rooms and scavenger hunts are especially good for creating teamwork situations that allow siblings or friends to collaborate.
Cooperative board games also help kids learn to build teamwork, leadership, and problem-solving skills.
Takeaways
The next time you face pushback from your child or sibling struggles during a lesson, look deeper. It may not be just a matter of getting your child to sit down and learn the lesson—whether it’s scientific notation or spelling—it may be a matter of helping them improve their collaboration and communication skills so they can focus on core academic skills more effectively.
Collaboration skills are good for a lot more than just group projects—they are lifelong skills that help kids succeed in relationships, careers, and life.
Things to keep in mind:
Collaboration struggles aren’t just personality conflicts—they’re skills kids can develop.
Everyday activities like cooking, debates, and games help kids build teamwork naturally.
Use learning struggles as a chance to improve collaboration skills—not just academics.
Challenge yourself to use the ideas above and everyday things like projects, volunteering, outdoor adventures, and team sports to build their skills.
Next time you see your child struggling to work with others—whether it’s a group project, a game, or a family task—take a step back. Instead of focusing on the conflict, use it as a chance to strengthen their collaboration skills. Try one of the strategies above this week and see how your child responds.
You may be surprised at how quickly they grow!