Independence is What is independence and how to develop it in children and adolescents?

2024 Author: Miguel Ramacey | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 06:11

Independence is a very desirable, but in some cases difficult to achieve quality. How to influence its formation in a child? How to ensure that children grow and develop independently? And when can you start instilling this useful quality in your child?

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 apart from others, independently." In addition, independence means decisiveness, the ability to act independently, initiative and the absence of fear of mistakes, freedom from the influence of others and the help of outsiders.

Developing independence in children

Very often, parents misinterpret the concept of "independence". In their opinion, the child will be independent if he unquestioningly does what adults tell him. But in reality, it is rather the ability to follow instructions and directions, that is,obedience. And the independence of the child is, first of all, his "separation" and autonomy.

A child becomes interested in performing certain actions very early. At seven months, he rejoices when he manages to get a toy on his own. In a year, he is satisfied if he is given the opportunity to sit down himself, and after that he 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.

Techniques for developing independence in a child

In order for your baby to do everything he can in the future, to do it himself and enjoy it, you need to use the right parenting techniques. First, it is very important to encourage independence in the child. A small child will want to perform some action himself only if his efforts give a positive result. In addition, it is very important for him how the surrounding adults react to this. The child wants to receive praise and approval from elders. It is for this reason that parents should try to encourage 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 get him to handle a difficult situation on his own, and then praise him. Help only if the child definitely cannot do it himself, but at the same time do not do it for him, but act together withhim.

Building independence in children

Passivity and lack of initiative is the main problem of adolescents and children of primary preschool age. The independence of schoolchildren is formed even when the child is not seven years old. But parents often do not attach any importance to this, hoping that the child will simply grow up. Before that, they do everything for him, without waiting for him to take the initiative. But in fact, school age itself will not become that magical period when a child suddenly begins to show such qualities as responsibility and independence. This is wrong, with the dependence of a child on an adult, you need to start fighting 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 are obliged to 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 does not want to maintain order and take care of self-service issues. He makes the bed only after reminders, things are scattered around the room, and the dishes are not removed after eating. How to prevent the development of such a situation? According to most adults, the only responsibility of the child is to put toys in their places. But experienced teachers assure that it is better to accustom a child to order at the age of five. Laterthis will be much more difficult. The baby is able to bring himself a cup, put a plate in the sink and perform many other simple tasks already at the age of one and a half years, if, of course, you give him such an opportunity. If you do everything for him, then how will he learn to be independent?

Adolescent autonomy

The question of how to teach a teenager to be independent is very important for parents. This period is a crisis, as it is associated with the child's awareness of himself as a person with his own characteristics and character. For him, peer assessment is of great importance, through which the very perception of a teenager is refracted. During this period, he, like a two-three-year-old kid, tries to test the rules for strength in order to form his own moral and ethical code. However, 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 the fact that his parents decide and do everything for him. This reduces his sense of his own competence and forms dependence on the opinions and tips of others. The child gets older, but at the same time continues to think that he is unable to do or decide anything without the help of adults.

Why do you need to develop independence in a 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 teachchild to take care of himself and clean up after himself. It is important to pay attention to the development of such qualities accompanying independence as the formation of one's own opinion, self-confidence. The child must learn to make decisions and take responsibility for them, not be afraid of the consequences and the desire to take the initiative, be able to set goals, achieve them and not be afraid to make mistakes. After all, it is much easier to get down to business if the assessment of others does not have much influence.