Helping Your Child Become More Independent

As your child develops other skills, like resilience, problem-solving and critical thinking, your child is inadvertently learning about the skills they need to be more developed and independent human beings. As parents we can help our children become more independent through a range of techniques, modelling healthy habits and navigating problems together to make them more rounded and developed individuals. 

Here, in this guide from a girl school in Notting Hill, we explore some ways you can help your child with their independence.

Don’t pick up tasks your child can do by themselves

There’s actually a big list of things your child should be able to do by themselves without intervening. When they’re heading to school on a regular basis they should be able to tie their own shoelaces, pack their school bag for the day, put on their uniform and put their coats on if it’s cold or rainy outside, among many other things. 

Try not to be tempted to help them, even if they look to be running late, as it’s a good test of how efficient and well they can complete these regular tasks.

Repetition is key

Your child won’t be able to absorb all that they learn every day, which is why repeating a lot of these effective measures will allow them to become independent in a natural way. For example, have a few days each week where your child begins to help with the cooking where they learn about their favourite dishes. They can start cooking it for themselves and learn to cook it without adult supervision when they grow older. 

Chores are also a great tool for training children in how to own a task and take responsibility in cleaning, keeping a tidy home and having good organisation skills.

Make your days full of decisions

Get your child involved in the choices made at home to help them be a part of the family’s decisions. Choosing what to have for dinner is a fun example of this, or if they want to pick out what they want for dessert. Have your child choose what they’d like to do on the weekend out of a list of choices, or ask them what book they’d like to read next. 

While they may seem like small decisions they’re actually effective ways of making children feel like they have responsibility for a day or a meal or an activity. Children are more likely to feel confident in themselves if they’re given the chance to have their input in family decisions.