Ways in Which Parents Can Make Their Toddlers More Independent
Parents love pampering their children with all the wonders of the world and with luxuries that can make the lives of their kids as easy as possible. But in the process, most parents forget that it does not do well to be at the beck and call of their children round the clock. There shall come the point when children shall start asserting their independence from their primary caregivers which is when it might be difficult for parents as well as their children to acclimatize to the transition. Therefore, it is necessary that parents start dealing with the situation way ahead of time and take up the necessary means to train their children to become independent individuals of society from a very young age.
It might not be an easy job to train your toddlers who have barely begun speaking or walking. But it must be understood that this is exactly the age when you can teach your child the true essence of self-dependence. The idea of this article is to provide parents with some points that can help them train their children when their mind is still capable of internalizing the changes. We shall, therefore, go through the points one after the other and try to understand the process better.
Take It One At A Time:
We started off by mentioning how important it is to teach your toddlers the true meaning of independence. But, that is not something that you can expect to do overnight or in the matter of a few weeks. It takes time and is not a process that can be rushed through. Understand your child’s temperament before anything else and take her through certain basic activities one at a time. Schedule the tasks and allow your little one to make it into a habit. For instance, if you teach your child to eat on their own one day, let him/her continue doing so for the rest of the week. This is how your child shall form a habit out of the ritual. Take up a new activity the week after, and allow the habits to sink in.
Stop Micromanaging Your Toddler:
Yes, she is just a child who does not know how to go about her day. But that does not mean that you have to micromanage her. Allow her to do things on her own. Let her play with the hairbrush or break the bristles in the process. That is how she will gradually learn how to brush her hair. Start your morning a little earlier than usual if need be. But do not try interfering with everything that your ward does. That will only ruin her self-esteem and discourage her from taking up on activities independently.
Acknowledge Your Child’s Efforts:
Your child will not want to do things on her own if there is no acknowledgement from your side. Every little effort needs to be acknowledged and appreciated. Extrinsic forms of motivation like rewards and words of praise act as catalysts in a child growing up to become a self-reliant human being, complete in her own substance. You must provide room for your child to grow by appreciating her efforts and helping her through her activities.
Teach Your Child the Right Ways of Handling Appliances:
Let us just face it; you cannot be around your child all the time. And toddlers are quite experimental with things. Therefore, you must teach them how to handle electrical appliances from a very young age to avoid accidents. For instance, you can have your child learn how to operate something like a dehumidifier. But make sure you are only dealing with the best basement dehumidifier, ones that are thoroughly reviewed by Dehumidifier Critic, lest you might only be exacerbating the chances of accidents. Once you see your child handling machines and appliances with ease, you shall know that they are now slowly emerging as responsible and independent individuals.
Conclusion:
Styles of parenting are subjective. Each parent might differ in the views of parenting and might want to go about the process in ways that they deem fit. But all things said and done, it is important to remember that our children are different from us. Only because you, as parents play the role of caregivers to their children, does not justify them tampering with their child’s individuality. Therefore, teach your kids to be self-reliant from an early age and watch them grow up to become responsible citizens.