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As your child grows, so does their need for independence. But how can you help them become more independent? Parenting expert Dr. Becky Kennedy shares her tips.
Here’s a question many parents ask themselves: “How can I make my son or daughter more independent? ? “. While the need for independence increases with the age of the child (and that’s normal!), not all parents necessarily know the steps to follow to make their child independent. Dr. Becky Kennedy, parenting expert, reveals her advice on Instagram.
Forgetting your role as a parent
To help your child work on their independence, it is essential to let them do things by themselves. As the expert recommends: “Want to develop your child’s independence? Then it’s time to get rid of your parenting job”This therefore involves letting your children take charge of managing certain tasks, without intervening.
Difficult for some parents, the specialist is aware of that.As parents, we need to get used to giving up certain tasks so our children can learn to do them themselves. Yes, this may mean your child is left without an umbrella on a rainy day or missing a field trip because they didn’t get the permission slip.” she concedes. But not doing things for your child (or reminding them of them!) will be the best way to teach them to care, she says.
Teaching them to overcome obstacles
By stopping the reminders, this would allow children to confront the reality of the tasks they have to do.
“The path will not be without pitfalls. Your child will forget his homework, or to hydrate during sports. If you no longer want to have to call your child at school to remind them to drink water during sports or to do their homework, you have to ask yourself, ‘Am I not maintaining this dependency by doing the work for them?’ Or am I the person who is allowing them to become the one who does all this for themselves? It’s important that they experience this when they are young, so that they can develop these SKILLS” says Becky Kennedy.
A habit that will eventually pay off.”As parents, we often have to let our children do their own thing and work on their own. This allows them to work on their resiliencetheir independence, and their abilities” she concludes.
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