If you’re trying to get your child to step out of their comfort zone and become less reliant on you, there are a number of things that you can do. You can start by passing on the baton and delegating some easy tasks and responsibilities. This will teach them about how to perform those tasks without your help and accountability. We’ve included some more tips below from a private school in London.
Watch and Wait
It takes time to learn anything new so if you’ve been working on teaching your child to tidy up after themselves or how to tie their shoelaces, they will just need some time and patience. Stepping in can make children feel rushed, pressured and that they’re unable to do so without your help. Whether it takes 5 minutes or 50, they will get there and develop confidence in themselves to do so. If you’re worried that they’re stuck, offer gentle nudges and ideas without interrupting.
Take It in Steps
Think about breaking tasks down. We all learn in different ways and for children something as simple as making their bed may seem confusing and require instructions to be broken down into smaller steps. For example, how to find the corners of covers and match them up with a duvet. You can also give them a hand and ease them into things like getting dressed by themselves by doing half while they do the other half.
Manage Expectations
It’s likely that they won’t get it right the first time or even second time and that’s okay as they are learning. It’s important to manage your expectations and be careful when offering feedback as criticism can discourage children and lead to regression.
We hope that these tips help you. More parenting tips and guidance can be found over in our blog archive.
