"Responsible, respectful, and independent?". A question from a follower to the wooden fellows.
Frédérique and the Wooden Fellows
Greetings! One of our followers recently raised a question that we found pretty intriguing.
“How do we raise a responsible, respectful, and independent child?”
As we focus here on the uniqueness of young children and their often underestimated potential, we appreciate the question taking us back to the “whole child”, after focusing last week on mathematics and number hunt. Zooming in and out, in and out!
A responsible, respectful, and independent child may look different depending on our background, our own early childhood, etc. Here, a responsible, respectful, and independent child would be a child confident enough to do things on their own and deeply considerate of the world they live in, and the people around them.
So, how do we raise such a confident and considerate child? We started with three resources we found online this week, that we are reviewing and extending based on our own experiences as a team of one early childhood educator /researcher and three wooden fellows.
Hence, here are below 10 recommendations, in no specific order to embrace a holistic approach.
Petite Clothilde, practicing how to tie shoesProvide young children with opportunities to practice new skills. Whether it is buttoning a shirt on their own, lacing their shoes, zipping up their coats, or pouring a cup of water, young children need plenty of opportunities to practice new skills to master to become more independent. Let them zip up your coat and tie your shoes for extra practice! Practice, practice, and practice some more is key.
Give them time. As they practice a new skill, young children will need more time to complete the task independently than when you were doing it for them. For instance, getting ready for school may require additional time so they can put on their coat on their own. This can be stressful and unnerving for their “I am going to be late to work” parent. The good news is they do not always have to do stuff on their own, and you can take turns. “This morning, I will zip up your coat, but you can zip up mine this weekend!”. Young children do not like to be taken by surprise or rushed, but with notice, they can be much more mellow.
Create a routine. “After school, we get some snacks and drink a cup of water; after dinner, we play, brush our teeth, and read a book.” Those are just examples of routines that can strengthen a young child’s independence and encourage them to initiate the next activity independently.
Offer choices. Having choices to make on their own — deciding between two types of snacks, the books to read at night, etc — can, indeed, empower young children and boost their confidence. I would add on, though, that young children should be exposed to the fact that sometimes, there is no choice, and it is OK. Their lives will come with thousands of times when choices are not an option, and the earlier we learn this, the more we can build skills to cope.
Let them solve problems, make mistakes, and fail. Mistakes are part of our life journey and should be celebrated as a milestone in mastering new skills! So be prepared! Some water may be spilled, some tee-shirts may be inside out, a 3 may look flipped vertically. Those are just necessary learning steps.
Nurture free play and projects. Free play and projects offer many opportunities for young children to solve new problems, and interact with others respectfully. Nurture them!
Be joyful, engage, and interact. Delving into a new task can be scary for young children, so do not hesitate to boost their confidence with encouragement, remind them you are here if need be, that you believe in them.
Encourage them to step out of their comfort zone. This connects with boosting their confidence through being joyful and engaging. Sometimes, becoming more independent does require to step out of our comfort zone! Trying new food, wearing different types of shoes, or clothes, leaving our lovey at home, do not hesitate to encourage them to be brave!
Respect the child as a person. This is such a critical point for me. How can we expect a child to be respectful, if they are not respected as a person?
Model how to care for others, and work out conflicts. Young children are sponges who learn immensely from us and our own actions and behaviors. Hold the door, smile, say I am sorry, be a kind, caring, and respectful human being : )
Any topics on elevating the uniqueness of young children that you would like to read about here? Please reach out to us through our comment section, our contact form or send us an email!
As always, thank you for being here and see you next week! As you can see, we picked evidence of the coming of a new Fellow : ) Stay tuned!
