Give your childtoo much
freedom, and he may misuse it. Give him too little, and he may grow up
to be completely dependent. Here's how you can find a balance.
You want to raise your child to be independent, and to help him make his own decisions. But if you give him too much
freedom, and he may get confused, misuse the freedom or make the wrong
choices. On the other hand, if you use the benefit of your experience
and make all his choices for him, you are destroying his ability to
make his own decisions, making him dependent on you and perhaps making him rebellious and resentful.
If you want your child to grow up into an independent person, you need to create a balance. Here are some tips on how you can achieve this balance and help make your child more independent.
Take it one step at a time
Everytime you do something for your child, do it slowly and let him watch careful, so that he learns how to do it by himself. So if you are helping your child
wear his socks and shoes, do it slowly. Let him see how you make him
wear the socks. Turn them inside out and show him the right side. The
next time, let him wear the socks, while you help him get his shoes on.
Show him how he can tie the laces.
Don't be in a hurry
Don't rush in to do everything for your child, no matter how tempting it may be. Your child
now may be trying to tie his shoelaces himself. You know that you can
tie them much faster for him, and you're getting impatient waiting for
him to get it right. However, don't interfere and tie them for him.
Stand by and watch while he tries to do it himself. If he gets it
wrong, you can redo it and ask him if he wants to try again. If not,
there's always tomorrow. Don't interfere until he asks for help or
unless he gets it wrong - after he has completed the task at hand.
Watch
Soon you would have passed the stage of helping your child
with every little task. You could simply be around monitoring him at
some level. Don't brush his teeth for him - let him brush them himself,
but be close by while he does it. The more he starts doing things for
himself, the more confidence he will start having in his own
abilities. This is why you should avoid checking him at every step.
Instead of telling him what he is doing wrong, tell him before-hand how
he can get it right. Often, the difference between raising a child right and wrong is just a way of putting things across to him.
Help him make lists
One of the best things you can teach your child
is to get him into the habit of making lists of his homework or his
chores. This will help him complete more tasks by himself and will
consequently turn him into a more independent
and capable person. You could start out by making the list for him, and
as he completes each task, you could make him cross it out from the
list.
Name:
Radha
Country: India
good article with ptactical , simple but efficient tips.keep up the good work.bcoz we need to do things differently for our children, different from what our parents did for us.
Name:
Narola
Country: Other
its the best articles and i am happy to read it.from your articles i can be more patient and understand my child ability. thanks alot for ur help
Name:
Naina
Country: USA
a very good comment, everyday i read the comments and it always gives u a good idea. thanks a lot.
Name:
Rachel/Preschool teacher
Country: usa
too many children today have too much done for them. if you miss the "i do it myself stage", you do a great disservice to your child. parent let your child try. let your child make mistakes. it is okay to try and make mistakes. home and the classroom should be a place where you can try things over and over again. what a wonderful right on the mark article!! bravo!!
Name:
Sumear
Country: India
it is nice article on independent chil. but i belive we should also give our experiences. and teach him some good things, which will be more helpful to him....
Name:
Tampa
Country: usa
great tips - i'm a 45 year old example of a dependent child filled with resentment because of over-controlling parents. i want my son to be raised differently but i find at times i give him too much freedom - my mantra will be balance! thanks!
Name:
Tony S
Country: india
fabulous article. i am v. happy that me and my husband are implementing most of the things u have suggested . thanks and keep it up.
Name:
LUXMI
Country: India
it is very nice article..most of the days i read the comments.children should be independant at very younger age.
Name:
gwilliams
Country: U.S.A.
i believe that children should be taught to be independent at a very young age. i even believe that they should have after school jobs at a very age like a girl i went to school with. i believe that poor parents raise their children to be independent at a younger age than middle-class and upper-class parents who do too many things for their children. children do not appreciate parents who do too many things for them. poor parents have the right idea to raise their children to be tough and independent.
