How to Raise a Self-Sufficient Kid

You probably choose doing many things for your child because it is faster and more reliable, and you will not need to clean up afterwards. It is much faster to pour milk yourself than to watch your child reaching for a cup, opening the package, pouring the milk… and suddenly spilling it. You will then have to wipe it. You’d better do it yourself. However, later in life, you suddenly ask yourself a question: why is my child so dependent, why can he/she do nothing? This is because he/she did not have the opportunity to become self-sufficient.

When to start cultivating self-sufficiency?

The child himself/herself will tell you when it is time to be independent. This will happen when he/she first wants to do something himself/herself. It is important to pay attention to this initiative without hindering it. Just show the child once how a thing is done correctly, and then only observe in order to correct it if necessary. Show calmly, slowly and without strain, for the child to realize that doing this is no big deal, and he/she will easily handle it himself/herself. A new skill should come easily and naturally, while playing, so that the child does not oppose it.

If it does not work

It happens that the first time is not successful, so you need to be there to support the child, encourage him or her and quickly switch the kid’s attention to another matter, for the little one not to be upset.

Methods of self-sufficiency cultivation

• Simplify everything for the child. If they learn to put on pants, give them the loose, elastic waist ones. Having learnt to put them on, the child will later cope with more complicated zipper trousers.
• Reminders. If the child still forgets to wash his/her hands before eating, or to brush his/her teeth in the morning, hang reminder pictures in the bathroom. The child will look at them and immediately remember what he or she must do.
• Your personal example. If you yourself do not do what you teach the child, all your efforts will be futile. The best way of learning is a good example of someone who has credibility in the child’s eyes.
• Break. It happens that, at some point, the kid stops doing what he/she was doing well lately. Do not panic, just give them a break, until they want to do this again. Do not push, just remind the child what a good boy/girl he/she was, when he/she washed the dishes.
• Praise. Praise is the most powerful tool in self-sufficiency cultivation.

The reverse side of self-sufficiency

If you decided to bring up an independent and self-sufficient person from the very childhood, then be aware that your child will become such. He or she will take and implement all the decisions independently, and you will always have to take his opinion in consideration, not to lose credibility in his or her eyes. Independence is always good, and the sooner your child understands this, the better for him/her.