How To Help Your Children Become More Independent

As a parent, it’s only natural to want to shelter your children as much as possible. After all, when you invest so much of your time and energy into giving your children the best home to grow up in, it’s only natural that you want to protect them from the outside world, too. This instinct is biological – and we see it across all species, not just humans. However, you must understand the difference between being protective and overprotective, the latter of which could negatively impact your child’s independence.

 

Independence, even at an early age, is important because: 

 

• It helps your children develop valuable life skills.
• Encourages your children to take responsibility for their actions and behaviours. 
• Confidence often increases alongside independence.
• Independence helps your children improve their social skills, making it easier to make more friends. 

Photo by Ben Wicks on Unsplash

 

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to help your children become more independent. 

 

• Help them find their ideal hobbies. Dedicating time to their hobbies is one of the easiest ways in which you can help your children develop their independence. This is due to the fact that it takes initiative to pursue something on their own merit – without being told to do it. However, it’s important that you don’t sign them up to activities without first asking them what they want to do. This way, they’ll be able to find a hobby they truly love. 

• Encourage them to go on residential trips. Encouraging your kids’ teacher to plan school residential trips (or giving them permission to go) is another great way to help your children become more independent. This is due to the fact that it helps them experience being away from home in a safe, structured environment – while still giving them the freedom they are craving. For example, they will have to pack their own suitcase and get ready themselves each morning during this time. 

• Offer them praise for showing initiative. Independence is a skill that is refined through practice – but it often goes unnoticed. For example, children begin to show independence when they make their own breakfast in the morning as opposed to waiting for you to do it for them, or when they put their clothes in the laundry basket. Whenever they begin to show initiative, offer them some praise to let them know they are on the right track. 

• Give them pocket money. Giving children pocket money is another great way to help them become more independent and can be a great step towards raising money-savvy kids. For example, if they spend their entire month’s allowance in one go and then regret it, they are much less likely to repeat this behavior. 

 

 

• Set goals together. Whether you are trying to make homework more fun or teaching your child to ride a bike, setting goals is another excellent way to help your children become more independent – especially when you encourage them to set these goals for themselves. For example, you can ask them what skills they’d like to work on each month, and what their specific goal is. Goal setting also teaches them the importance of focus and determination. However ,you should also ensure that you lead by example and set goals for yourself too. When you model good behaviour for your children, they will begin to subconsciously (and independently) mirror this in their own lives.  

*This is a collaborative post.