If parents won't give proper protection and care to their babies, babies will not make it. If separated from parents for long hours, babies become passive, undemanding and inert. Without proper care and love from parents, kids will not grow well. Though 2, 8 and 14-year-old still require care from their parents, the extent of care and attention provided to infants is different. Parents provide food, but let their children eat by themselves. Parents provide clothes but let kids dress up by themselves. Parents keep their kids safe, but do not guard their every move and step. It is okay for parents to show affection and love to their children but should not smother children whenever they want to.
For parents, allowing their kids to do things on their own may be hard. However kids must thrive and grow and one day become independent. If parents won't let go of their kids, children will less likely thrive and mature just like a plant that's in the shadow always of another and turns and alters direction to get sunlight. To cultivate independence amongst your children and how to experience it with ease, here are some tips to consider:
Set loose gradually
Sooner or later parents should set loose their kids, but in a gradual process. If parents let this happen too early and too fast, their kids will most likely to become emotionally attached to them and in return be afraid of becoming independent.
Tackle risk-taking value
Parents should teach their children the value of risk-taking and following through with their actions. They can also share to their kids how they've committed mistakes before and how they've learned from those mistakes. When kids know the value of risk-taking, they will not be afraid of facing new experiences and challenges.
Accept failure
Human beings are rational species bound to commit mistakes, even when they are still young. Make sure to sit and discuss this to your children. Teach them also to expect few failures whenever they try and experience new things and tell them that it is expected and it is normal. Give emphasis on how they can learn from their mistakes and how to accept failure.
When parents let their kids face failure, just like what Pamela Hayford did when she didn't save her son from his own mess, kids learn to devise clever resolutions to their difficulties. According to an article posted in Positive Parenting Solutions, Dr. Jennifer Hartstein, child and adolescent psychologist, said that children who are bailed out always by their parents will come to avoid cases where they may fail.
