Giving Your Kids Independence As They Grow Up

This is a collaborative post 

Parenting is a journey of constant growth and development. They way you treat your child when they’re a newborn will vary greatly from how you deal with them when they’re a toddler, child, teen and adult. You’re going to find that, as your child grows up, you’re going to have to change your approach and ensure that you’re catering to their needs and preferences according to their age group. One thing many parents struggle to get to grips with is ensuring that they’re giving their child enough independence but not too much. Here are just a few different things to bear in mind when it comes to kids and independence.

Entertaining Themselves

It’s important that your kids are able to entertain themselves. While it’s important to engage with them and play with them or help them learn or with activities often, children should also know that they can’t command your attention every single moment of the day. This will help your children to find things that interest them and to engage with them independently. Start out by getting your child to entertain themselves while you’re engaging in other tasks, for example, cooking or cleaning. Of course, make sure they’re always minded and you keep an eye on them, but give them more control over what they choose to do during this time.

Independent Thought

While children may pick up certain interests or views by spending time around you, you should make sure that they’re capable of independent thought too. Your child should feel confident to express their own views, form their own opinions and speak freely. Do this by questioning them about different things. What do they think about a story you just read? The news? A historical event? A piece of art? Anything? Listen and respond, making sure that you show them that their ideas matter and are taken on board.

Independence Milestones

As your child grows more independent, there may be different milestones that they reach. Here are some to consider:

• Spending time in a different room to you
• Engaging in solo activities
• Doing chores
• Spending time at a friend’s home
• Spending time out and about without an adult present
• Having their own key from key cutters

Support and Guidance

If you’re unsure whether your child is ready to take a new step with independence, you can always carry out a little research online and see what the professionals say. Often, children take big steps at similar ages. Plus, you can get advice from other parents who have been through the situations already. There are plenty of resources and sometimes places like school can help too.

Seeing your child grow up and become more independent is always going to feel daunting. They’re the centre of your world and you’re going to want to baby and protect them for as long as possible. But kids do grow up and you’re going to have to support them through this journey. Hopefully, the tips above should help you on this journey.