Building Independence In Children

A child needs to become independent with age. Children have a tendency to rely on their parents for taking their personal decisions. They look for continuous support from kith and kin. However, eventually, they will have to learn to take their independent decisions and not depend on others for support every time. Gaining independence is a very integral part of a child's growth process. The ultimate goal of parents should be to inculcate a self-determining attitude in their kid. The article deals with the issue of building independence in children at length. Read on to know how to make your child independent.

 

Many parents do all those things for their children that ideally, they should be doing for themselves. You do not need to assist your child too much in homework or other activities. This will increase his/her reliance on you, rather than making him/her independent. You surely need to become the hand that your child seeks at the time of crisis, but it does not mean that you should spoonfeed him/her all the time.

 

Building confidence is the first and the most important step towards becoming independent. A child with a confidence-deficit will continue to depend on others for the smallest of things. Develop confidence in your child, by allowing him/her to do little things on his/her own. For example teach him/her how to make a telephone call, call the operator, use a pay phone or make a long distance call. Also teach child basic things like his/her full name, address, phone number, etc.

 

Don’t shield your child too much. It is good to save children from possible harm, but over-protectiveness will not allow your child to have the essential exposure. Expose your child to the problems that he/she will have to face in later life. Possessive parents are usually, over-protective of their child, which hinders the child's decision-making ability. Don’t stop your child from facing the world, in a bid to prolong the inevitable. He/she will have to face the realties of the world sooner or later.

 

If there is any thing that requires your child to make a choice, let him/her take the decision independently, without external influence. When children are young, it is the parents who make choices for them. However, as age progresses, the child needs to be granted enough freedom to choose among the available alternatives. However, you can always provide him/her with overall guidance.

 

To build independence in children, you need to help them get rid of their insecurities. Make them believe that you will always be there and they can fall back on you in times of need. At the same time, encourage your child to take autonomous decisions. Let him/ her know that you won’t be available to act on his/her behalf every time. He/she will have to be responsible for his/her actions, once out of the bounds of home.