You may help your child to be more independent without making him lose to enjoy his golden age of childhood the way he should.
One has to spend one’s life oneself after all; so the sooner one becomes independent, the better.
The following are the tips you must focus on in this regard.
1. Assign him the responsibilities as per his age-demand
Quite obviously, your young child cannot manage the home budget or give you advice regarding your business affairs at so minor an age. Most probably, he can begin managing his own self and helping you with small things like making a list of groceries or packing his own bag for a picnic trip. Such typical tasks will help him become independent in his decision making as per the need of time.
2. No need to hand-hold your child; let him go with his flow
Very small kids do need your instructions and even your intervening at various stages of their working may prove vital for them to learn much more. But once your child becomes a bit mature in his approach, he deserves to be trusted regarding his methodology to accomplish a task. He may get confused and shaky if you interrupt him too many times with his ongoing progress. Let him come to you if he wants to seek any of your help.
3. Give him choices with limited options
If your family is getting ready to attend a marriage ceremony and you ask your child to select your outfits from the cupboard, he may become confused about what to select from so many options available to him. But, instead, if you select four suitable dresses for him yourself and ask him to finalize one of them himself, he will feel it easier to decide out of the limited options. The same is the case if you ask him to order some dish out of the whole menu at some restaurant, he will feel it hard to decide. But if you squeeze the choices to only six and ask him to decide, he will easily choose from the limited options. Such types of decisions help a lot to make a child feel independent.
4. Avoid giving too much guideline; let him explore the things himself
Instead of hovering over your child all the time and making him do what you like for him, it is much better to give him space to roam and explore the things himself. He will use his mind and find out gradually which things he likes or dislikes and feels comfortable with or otherwise. It will boost up the child’s confidence and give him a sense of being independent in exploring the world.
5. Always appreciate his accomplishments
Whatever your child explores and decides to do and whatever way he chooses to achieve his target, you must appreciate his accomplishments whether big or small. Remember, it is the process, not the actual success that matters. Appreciation on your part will improve his trust in your bond with him and he will naturally like to do the things your way whenever he becomes independent to do so.
6. Be patient with his failures and encourage him
Learning new things through making your own decisions independently is not an easy task for a beginner and quite possibly your child may fail in his targets. He may also get frustrated at his failure and needs your support and encouragement. So, you must be patient at his failure and encourage him to keep on trying his best. Failure on his part is not a big issue; the actual thing is his being involved in the process. Your positive attitude in this regard will boost the child to be independent at a quicker pace than otherwise.
