How to Teach your Child to be more Independent.

{Collaborative content} There are many challenges that come alongside parenting - from getting a full night’s sleep with a newborn to helping them with their maths homework. However, as they get older, it's equally vital that you help them to develop a sense of independence. While this does not mean they cannot turn to you whenever they need help or support, encouraging independence in your children develops life-long confidence faith in their own reasoning and can help them develop a range of life skills. 

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

With that in mind, here are some top tips that you can use to help teach your children to be more independent. 

• Give them some responsibility. Independence and responsibility come hand in hand, so giving your children more responsibilities around the home is a great way to get started on their journey to independence. For example, you could encourage them to help out with cleaning by organising their toys or tidying their room. Alternatively,  welcoming a pet into your home is another excellent way to get your children to become more responsible. 

• Encourage them to go on school trips. When your children are younger, you may be a little reluctant to allow them to participate in residential school trips, especially if they have not spent a night away from you previously. However, there are many benefits to these school trips - they make learning fun, strengthen friendships, and show your child that you trust them to spend some time ‘alone’ or away from home. In short, they’re a great way to help your child become more independent. 

• Let them make some decisions. Part of being independent is being able to make your own decisions. Therefore, you should let your child make some of the decisions for the family. Of course, this should not extend into anything all that important - but they could get to choose the next family day out or which film you watch at your next movie night. Another great way to encourage independence is to let your children pick out their own outfits instead of laying them out for them. Be sure to have your cameras at the ready as this often results in some ‘creative’ outfits, to say the least. 

• Praise them for showing initiative. Kids tend to learn through positive reinforcement, especially when it comes to growing more independent and making decisions on their own. Therefore, whenever they begin to show initiative, you should praise them for it and let them know how proud of them you are. This is a great way to help your children feel more confident in their instincts. 

• Let them make mistakes. Part of growing up involves making mistakes - and it's essential that you let your children make their own mistakes without interfering too much (unless it is a matter of health and safety). This is due to the fact that it helps them to learn and adapt to any situation that they may find themselves in - which is a great way to trust their judgement logic and become more independent.