To meet their visions of success as adults in the 21st century, our kids are going to need some pretty sophisticated skills. And I’m not talking about technology skills such as those needed to work computers, although those will be important.

Today’s young people will need to be 21st century thinkers, able to recognize problems and opportunities, understand the complex and varied systems in which those problems and opportunities exist, weigh the pros and cons of potential solutions, and proceed wisely with enacting their decisions.

In addition, given the dizzying rate of change that characterizes the times, our children will have to be able to adapt. Gone are the days of one-employer or even one-career work lives; gone is the reliance on face-to-face communication; gone even is the security of knowing we will have clean oceans to fish and play in and healthy air to breathe.

We expect today’s kids to have multiple careers and roughly a dozen jobs before they reach age 30, but we can only guess what some of those jobs will be. Listen to some of Forbes magazine’s list of jobs we may have in 15 years: gene screener, robot mechanic, Hollywood holographer (for 3D movies), space tour guide, and hydrogen fuel station manager. Two more stem from predicted environmental upheaval: quarantine enforcer and drowned city specialist.

What can parents do to prepare kids for their 21st century lives?

1. Affirm the importance of your role as a teacher to your child. Reflect and learn more about what and how you teach and help your child prepare for her future.

2. Help your child think of learning as a life-LONG process. Mere memorization and acquisition of knowledge just won’t work anymore. Because the Internet allows such easy and rapid dissemination, our children will always need to proficiently filter, interpret, and evaluate information.

3. Help your child think of learning as a life-WIDE process. Encourage him to embrace opportunities for learning and self-improvement at home, at school, on the internet, and in the community. Help your child build analytical, creative, social & emotional, and practical thinking skills.

4. Focus on communication skills. As past generations did, today’s future adults will need to effectively express their thoughts and questions, but they will need to be effective in more modes of communications and with a larger variety of audiences.

5. Think global. Help your child learn about the cultures and languages around her and across the globe. The world will continue to shrink and our children’s ability to bridge cultural differences will serve them well.

6. Instill in your child the understanding that if he works hard, he can learn and improve in any area. He should wholeheartedly believe he can utilize resources and sincere effort to better learn and do what it is he cares about. These attitudes are indeed 21st century and reflect what neuroscientists understand about how our brains literally change as we learn and grow.

7. Be a learner yourself! Your example teaches volumes. Point out to your child, for example, how you thoughtfully enter new situations, set goals, and draw on resources that help create and sustain positive change and learning.