Creating Independence

My son always wants to help me and I never in hesitate to let him. For those of you who have met my son, McLean, you can just see this little person trying to help Mumma out, but you can also see the mess that would follow.

Sometimes I am not in the mood to clean up a mess if it were to happen, BUT how is my son ever going to learn and get better at something if I don’t let him try? So, I try my best to ignore any hesitation. or thoughts of how much quicker the job would get done if I did it on my own. and let him help, encourage independence and building self-esteem at the same time.

While things at my house may be a bit different, as McLean has CP and the challenges are a bit different and the helping a bit more modified than the typical preschooler, here are a few things

that are age appropriate and could be done all on their own.

1. Making their own Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwich.

2. Folding Socks.

3. Pouring Milk and Cereal. (This one is trickier. That milk jug can be heavy and no one wants to clean up spilt milk, but if the milk is less than half way gone go for it, or pour it into a little jug for them to do on their own.)

4. Unloading the cutlery from the dishwasher and putting it away. (While I take out the knives ahead of time, McLean loves doing this one. The cutlery may just be dumped in the drawer at this point, as my husband and I dig through the piles to find what we need, but the pride on Mac's face makes it all worth it!)

They will get better at these jobs each and every time, the mess will become less and they will become more confident. (And maybe you can stay in bed a few extra minutes if they can grab more than a piece of fruit for themselves in the morning.)

Here’s a few more posts found regarding helping Encourage Independence in Kids:
MomAdvice - Chores for the Clark Kids
Simple Mom - Chore Chart for Preschoolers
Momaroo - What Age to Start Chores

Grit your teeth, ignore the mess and let your child soar with independence!

What are you willing to let your kids help out with?

( adapted/added and blog lifted from Makes and Takes, as such a worthy topic to read about)