Independence is a very desirable, but in some cases elusive, quality. How to influence its formation in a child? How to ensure that children grow and develop independently? And when can you begin to instill in your child this useful quality?
First of all, it should be clarified what, in fact, is meant by the word "independence". This, according to Ushakov’s explanatory dictionary, implies the following: “existence separately from others, independently.” In addition, independence means decisiveness, the ability to take independent actions, initiative and the absence of fear of mistakes, freedom from the influence of others and the help of outsiders.
Development of independence in children
Very often, parents misinterpret the concept of “independence”. In their opinion, the child will be independent if it implicitly does what adults say to it. But in reality it is, rather, the ability to follow instructions and directions, that is, obedience. And the independence of the child is, first and foremost, his “isolation” and autonomy.
Very early on, a child becomes interested in performing certain actions. At seven months, he rejoices when he manages to get his own toy. In a year, he is satisfied if he is given the opportunity to sit down himself, and then begins to eat without the help of adults. That is, independence begins to appear early, but at the same time this quality requires development and consolidation.
Receptions for the development of independence in the child
In order for your baby to try everything he can in the future to do it himself and enjoy it, you need to use the correct methods of education. Firstly, it is very important to encourage independence in the child. A small child will want to perform an action himself only if his efforts give a positive result. In addition, it is very important for him how the adults around him will react to this. The child wants praise and approval from the elders. It is for this reason that parents should try to promote independence in their child.
The development of independence in children is a complex process, and you need to be patient. Do not rush to help your baby, be patient. Try to let him handle a difficult situation himself, and then praise him. Help only if the child is definitely not able to do it himself, but do not do it instead, but act with him.
Formation of independence in children
Passivity and lack of initiative are the main problem of adolescents and children of primary preschool age. The independence of schoolchildren is formed even when the child is under seven years old. But parents often do not attach any importance to this, hoping that the child will simply grow up. Until then, they are doing everything for him, not waiting for him to take the initiative. But in reality, school age alone will not become that magical period when a child suddenly begins to show such qualities as responsibility and independence. This is wrong, with the child’s dependence on an adult, one must begin to fight at an early age, when the baby begins to walk, eat and so on.
Gradually, the child must independently do what he can do. And parents should not interfere too much in his activities, but they must teach their child to associate his actions with the result, that is, responsibility.
How to teach a child to order
Parents are very often upset by the fact that their already grown-up child absolutely does not want to maintain order and take care of self-care issues. He refills the bed only after reminders, things are scattered around the room, and dishes after meals are not cleaned. How to prevent the development of such a situation? According to most adults, the only responsibility of the child is to lay the toys in places. But experienced teachers assure that it is better to accustom a child to order before the age of five. This will be made much more difficult later. The kid is able to bring himself a cup, put the plate in the sink and carry out many more different simple tasks in a year and a half, if you, of course, provide him with this opportunity. If you do everything for him, then how will he learn independence?
Independence of adolescents
The question of how to accustom a teenager to independence is very important for parents. This period is a crisis, since it is associated with the child's awareness of himself as a person with his own characteristics and character. For him, peer assessment, through which the very perception of a teenager is refracted, is of great importance. During this period, he, like a two-three-year-old baby, tries to check the rules for strength in order to form his own moral code of ethics. Nevertheless, this is only a continuation of the formation of the thinking of an autonomous person, separate from adults, and not the beginning of the development of independence.
Why does a child become dependent on parents? Mainly because he gets used to it, that everything is decided and done by his parents for him. This reduces his sense of self-competence and forms a dependence on the opinions and promptings of others. The child grows older, but at the same time continues to think that he is unable to do or decide anything without the help of adults.
Why you need to develop independence in the child
This is a very important process of growing up a person. At the same time, the goal of developing independence is not only to teach the child to serve himself and clean up for himself. It is important to pay attention to the development of such related autonomy qualities as the formation of one’s own opinion and self-confidence. The child must learn to make decisions and take responsibility for them, not be afraid of the consequences and desire to take initiative, be able to set goals, achieve them and not be afraid to make mistakes. It is much easier to get down to business if the assessment of others does not have much influence.