Families For Life | Teaching Skills to Children: Different Approaches-Young Children
Life experiences and learning opportunities equip your child with the essential skills, mindset, and confidence to thrive.
Providing opportunities and support to increase your child’s independence by starting your child on age-appropriate tasks.
Helping with tasks
Getting your child to help with tasks that fall within their abilities helps them feel empowered and valued as a member of the family.
Additionally, successfully completing their tasks will not only increase their sense of responsibility, but also their confidence and feelings of accomplishment.
Helping with chores also develops skills necessary to form good relationships, such as communication, negotiation, and teamwork.
Introduce your child to new tasks
Engaging your child in starting household chores and other responsibilities may be difficult in the beginning.
They may do things slower than desired, not always follow your instructions properly, or approach tasks in a different way than you would.
Despite these challenges, it is important to take a step back and let them try things out for themselves.
Remember that these opportunities will help your child bolster their confidence, learn through trial and error, and develop independence over time.
Help your child manage new tasks
For younger children:
Gradually expose them to tasks that can develop their confidence using the “I Do, We Do, You Do” approach
I Do: Show them how to do the chore properly
We Do: Do the chore together with them
You Do: Encourage them to complete the chore on their own
For example, you can show your child how to pack their school bag according to their class timetable. Watch them do so the next day. Following this, allow them to pack their school bag on their own.
Encouraging your child as they complete their tasks
As you provide your child with appropriate opportunities to build their independence, it is also important to ensure you support them with reassurance and guidance.
Here are some ways you can guide and encourage your child as they complete their responsibilities:
Affirm their efforts during and after they have completed tasks assigned to them
Highlight their progress, perseverance, and what they have done well
For example, "I like how you wiped the table sparkling clean!"
Create a reminder to help them keep track of the tasks to be done:
Consider writing each family members’ chores for the day/week on a piece of paper or on a board
Contributed by: Parenting for Wellness
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