9 simple ways to help your child become independent

Allow your little children independent activities, praise them and then they will succeed.

1. Encourage independence
If your baby is dressing, do not be tempted to say: “Why did you not wear this shirt?”. Say: “Well done! You dressed yourself. ”If your child made his bed, say:“ Great job! ”, But in no case:“ It still looks sloppy ”Your main goal is to encourage independence, not to clean the bedroom.

2. Make it work a little easier.
My daughter wants to cook breakfast herself, but is it still difficult for her? Leave her cereal in a cup and a small bag of milk within reach.

Son depressed work on the essay, which he should write? Offer help by saying, “I’ll pick a photo, and you look for the material and write notes. I’ll work with you.”

3. Use negotiation and timer
Need a push for children to clean their room? Of course, this is not a fun activity. Give a fiery speech, saying: “Just think how great it will be when you hide all the toys. I’ll come take a look in 15 minutes, ok? ”

Some children are motivated by the presence of a kitchen timer or a stopwatch phone. Others need stickers or bonus snacks at the finish. You do not want the reward to be edible, try giving the child a bonus of, say, 10 extra minutes of screen time before bedtime.

4. Compliment small victories.
Positive words help shape good habits. Let them know that small things are important when you say things like “I really appreciate you washing your shoes”, “Thank you for hanging a towel” or “Hooray, you remembered that you need to close the toothpaste!”

5. Use praise indirectly.
Let your child hear you say good things about him to someone else. For example: “Nastya herself dismantled her closet. I am so proud of her. ”Or:“ Alyosha finished another library book. Can you believe he reads so much? ”Praise a child who is within earshot, but not only personally.

6. Ask them to help.
Instead of setting the table, preparing food, cleaning the house, and then resenting your children that they are just playing or watching TV, bring one child to your company. “Irishka, you will help me today, and Vanya – tomorrow.” Give your assistant clear instructions and use time as an opportunity to build friendships, and not a chance to improve the skills of folding napkins.

And if your teenage son says: “I need a clean sweater for tomorrow!”, Say: “I will show you how the washing machine works. So we avoid this problem in the future. ”

7. Use humor
Instead of saying 80 times: “Nastya, it’s time to brush your teeth”, smile and ask: “Hey, it’s time to sleep. I do not need to remind you that you need to brush your teeth, do you? Go running and I will come in five minutes to say: good night. ”Or hang a colorful sign on the bathroom door that says:“ If you ignore your teeth, they will leave. ”

8. Give the bait, not the fish.
When you hear: “Mom, do we have scotch?” Instead of going for scotch, say:

“Yes. He lies on the spot “”Where?”“In the top bureau drawer””Can you bring it to me?”“No, and after using it, do not forget to put it back, thanks”

Try not to scold the child, but simply to report the fact. Next time he will know where the scotch tape is, or toilet paper, colored pencils, batteries, or what he is looking for.

9. Provide leisure
If your daughter or son says “I’m bored,” this is not the kind of replica to drop everything and rush headlong to the park. Make sure your children have library cards and fun books that have nothing to do with educational literature. Give your fidgets albums and empty notebooks to draw or write a diary. Show them a website on the Internet where they can play online games and learn, for example, to make desserts in the game Cooking Homemade Ice Cream, hair in games 3 stylish looks, Haircuts for Girls or treat animals in a game Dr. Plyushev.

Making small independent steps, your baby paves the way to independence. Look at what the child is able to accomplish at every stage of life and help him. At the same time, let your baby do these steps on his own. Of course, the process will take more time and requires patience, but this is a very important stage of education.