Teaching your child responsibility allows your child to be successful in learning because he learns to be in charge and take ownership of himself. He won't need to be told what to do every step of the way.
Teach your child to take responsibility for his things. Teach him to where to put clothes when he takes them off. Teach him to clean up his toys. Teach him to make his bed.
Teach him to concentrate on his tasks. Have him finish what he starts--complete the tasks given him. Teach him to be able to work on tasks independently. While he is working on tasks independently, keep interruptions and distractions away as much as possible
Now, the above can sound really simple until you start thinking about it. Teaching to clean up after self and to make the bed can take time and patience, as well as creativity. Having a preschooler finish what he starts might get frustrating for both of you at times. If you have a little social butterfly, it can be a challenge to get him to work independently. If you have multiple children, removing distractions requires some great juggling by mom.
Take it all one step at a time, and if you need help implementing anything, please let us know!
This is a totally random question, but I am currently teaching my 3 yr old how to dress/undress herself and wondered do you have any tricks for helping little ones get their shirts off/over their heads without destroying the shirt? This is the one thing she struggles with most and get's so frustrated that I have to help her :(
ReplyDeleteHmmm...I just have them take their arms out first, then pull up over the head. My kids have such large heads that the shirt sometimes gets stuck, so they need help pulling it off.
ReplyDeleteAlso, right at 3 I would expect to need to help often. Kaitlyn is now 3.5 and can get shirts off on her own most of the time.