Parents today try to do as much as possible for and with their children. They are encouraged to play, constantly entertained and carried all day. Parents are expected to check their children’s homework and keep their lives as stress free as possible. But parents who help their children to be self-sufficient they also guide them to grow up to be kinder, more responsible adults.
Decades ago, parents expected their children to play independently, do their homework without help, and contribute to chores without question. Of course, today’s world differs from what it was thirty years ago.
Teaching Your Child To Be Self-Sufficient Helps Them Accomplish These 8 Things
With the internet and social media, it’s not easy knowing how to encourage your child to be independent and still protect them. Here are eight reasons why self sufficiency is so essential for a child and some simple ways to promote your child’s independence.
Self-sufficient children are also more self-confident
Years ago, kids walked to school, biked to the grocery store, and worked out problems with their friends on their own. Researchers say these independent children learned to bounce back from difficulties and were more self-sufficient and emotionally healthy than today’s youth.
Teaching your child to be autonomous It’s not easy, he may choose to wear clothes you don’t like, but he will become a better adult.
Self-sufficiency helps them grow to feel happier
Researchers say that children feel more comfortable making meaningful contributions to the family as they get older. In addition to expecting your children to participate in household chores, you can teach them simple home maintenance. Depending on their age, children can learn life skills such as how to
- change a bulb
- Mowing
- clean a bathroom
- cover nail holes
- paint a wall
- Use a screwdriver and a hammer
- cleaning bathtub grout
- wash a car
- Clean windows
- replace air filter
Do these maintenance tasks with your children. When you’re sure they understand how to do the job safely, let them try it independently.
Self-sufficient children are more self-confident
When a child learns to do things, his self-confidence increases. All you have to do is look at the face of a five-year-old who knows how to tie his shoes. You will see a big smile of self-confidence. His confidence motivates them to try other challenging tasks like cleaning their desks at school or making their beds at home.
Children feel a sense of control over their lives
Being self-sufficient also helps your child feel that they have some control over their lives. His world is small, but even simple things like being able to get dressed, clean his room, and go downstairs in the morning create a sense of control.
Be sure to praise your child’s effort, but avoid praising his performance. Studies found that praising a child’s ability is ineffective when a child fails compared to praising effort.
If you only praise your child’s ability, it will make him act helpless and want to give up when he fails. They will turn negative and try less to try again.
But when you praise your child’s effort, he focuses on improving his process, showing more persistence and tenacity.
Self-sufficient children are more sensitive to others
When a child can take care of his own needs, he quickly wants to help others. They feel confident that they can help. Your son’s learning experience is fresh in her mind, so he wants to help someone else learn what he learned.
Reinforce this desire by giving them opportunities to help someone else through what they know how to do. For example, you can allow your child
- Help a younger brother tie his shoes
- Show a little brother how to make his bed
- Cut flowers and take them to your neighbor
- Help you bake cookies and give them to a grandpa.
Self-reliance increases your self-motivation
Self-sufficient children are academically motivated. They have a sense of accomplishment and a desire to keep trying. As mentioned, help your child to praise his efforts instead of all the correct answers. Even if they got some of them wrong, praise them for doing the best they could.
Don’t make grades paramount. Instead, acknowledge their hard work. This helps them to be even more motivated next time.
Learn to take care of yourself
Children who learn to do things for themselves feel capable of taking care of themselves. A self-sufficient five-year-old starts kindergarten knowing how to put on his coat and tie his shoes. A five-year-old boy who hasn’t learned to be independent needs help putting on his jacket and tying his shoes.
Both children go to school, but one child is ready to take care of himself. These children will feel more self-confident. They will be able to learn new things immediately, while the other child will need to be encouraged to be more self-sufficient in taking care of himself.
Self-reliance reinforces lessons about life and people
When children gain the freedom to learn and try things for themselves, they gain a better understanding of life and people. The researchers found that children who help around the house have better relationships with their family as adults than children who did not help around the house growing up.
Self-sufficiency prepares your children for learning experiences, so they learn what works and what doesn’t. These lessons are invaluable when they are older.
How you can help your children to be more independent as they get older
Now that you know the benefits of helping the children to be independent, this is the question. I eat? Try these appropriate tips:
Give your children chores to develop self-sufficiency in them
Assign your child age-appropriate chores. When they are little, they can learn to
- make your bed
- Put away your clothes
- Help clean the table
- Feed the dog
As your child gets older, you can increase his responsibilities. Of course, you may need to adjust your standards to see what a “made” bed looks like. It’s okay. You can help them focus on doing a better job as they get older.
Give them a remuneration
Earning money helps children learn more independence. A mother paid her little daughter a quarter if she cleaned her room, but she took a quarter when the room was dirty. The daughter quickly learned that she made more money cleaning her room than skipping it.
Of course, not all parents like the idea of paying them because children can only do chores for a reward. It’s up to you to decide how and when to give your kids a small payment, but it’s a useful way to teach them to be self-sufficient.
Teach them how to save (and spend) money
Give your children a piggy bank at an early age. Guide them on how to save and spend their money wisely. They can save money for birthdays or their pay for jobs. Talk to them about the difference between needs and wants. Help them make purchases or encourage them to save for larger investments.
Self-sufficient children can prepare for school on their own
Let your children get dressed, brush their teeth and prepare their lunch by themselves. Discuss how to arrange clothes and do homework the night before and what good food options are for your lunch. As they mature, teach them to set the alarm and get up independently.
They may have a day where they miss the bus or forget their lunch, but that’s all part of the experience. Learning to be self-sufficient.
Let them do the chores on their own
When your child is old enough, it is essential to give him some freedom. Let them ride their bikes in the neighborhood park with his friends. Of course, years before, you prepared them on how to handle things like not talking to strangers and how to cross the street. So when it’s time to do it on your own, they’re ready and you can trust them to do the right thing.
Allow your child to resolve conflicts on their own
You can’t be present for every interaction your child has with other children, but you can provide them with the skills they need to resolve conflicts independently. Teach them to deal with their emotions, tell others they don’t like something, and apologize when necessary. These skills will serve them well and help them resolve conflicts when they get older.
let them fail
As parents, it’s hard to watch your child fail. You want to “fix” it for them, but failure is essential to your child’s growing years. Don’t overreact when he fails, nor should you minimize it to the point where he doesn’t feel the pain of failure.
Failure is a beautiful catalyst to try again. Help your child understand that failure is typical and what you do with your failure counts.
Final thoughts
When your children are young, wanting to do everything for them is easy. This is partly because it is easier. After all, you are an adult, but sometimes you want them to be little children and not grow up.
Since growing up is inevitable, you might as well teach your child to be self-sufficient. Most researchers will tell you that self-sufficient children are more confident, happy, helpful, and motivated. This can help your child grow into a strong and capable adult, ready to help others and conquer the world.