How to promote autonomy in children aged 6 to 12

It is important that help our children to promote their autonomy since they are young, because this will help them to develop in life and to face and overcome the challenges that arise.

Parents should accompany them on this path, acting as guides and setting an example with our actions. A few days ago we shared some tips to promote the autonomy of children between three and six years, and today we want to focus on those between the ages of six and 12: How can we help them to be more independent?

Why should we continue to promote the autonomy of the child from the age of six?

From the age of six, the children they already have a certain degree of maturity and knowledge of the environment that makes them more independent and feel fully capable of doing things for themselves. Promoting this autonomy will have a positive impact on your self-esteem, and therefore on your safety and happiness.

In Babies and more11 books to educate our children in autonomy and responsibilityBut we must keep in mind that autonomy is a long process, so although we start encouraging it from babies, there are always things that we can continue to do as our children grow.

But we must remember that when we talk about "promoting autonomy" we do not mean to force or force the child to do something, but give you the possibility to participate actively, believe in him and give him confidence to do the tasks according to his age. In this way, we will get involvement and learning.

How to promote the autonomy of the child between the ages of six and 12

When it comes to promoting children's autonomy, it is important to remember that each one has its own pace of evolution, so the tips that we are going to share below are indicative.

In Babies and more How to promote autonomy in children with fun tasks by ages, inspired by the Montessori table

Based on the Montessori inspiration task table, these are some of the activities that children can do according to the age range we are trying, and that are a great help in promoting their autonomy:

  • Watering plants: Children love nature and if you have plants at home they can help by pouring them from time to time or removing dried leaves.

  • Help with pet care: If you have pets at home, the children will be happy to contribute to their care by feeding them, changing the water, brushing them ... As they grow, and according to our criteria, the child can help by taking the dog for a walk, for example.

  • Help in the garden: gardening works can be very entertaining and also learn basic notions of biology, botany, science ...

  • Pick up your room: Five minutes a day is enough for the "game" to pick up your room. It is their space and it is important that they learn to have it clean and tidy.

  • Stretch the bed: It is a good habit that when you get up you make your bed minimally by stretching the sheets a little and arranging the pillow. It is a simple gesture that will hardly take time.

  • Cook together: for children it is a great plan to cook with dad and mom, in addition to the benefits it has for them to do it (better food, creativity, spending time together, etc.). As the child grows older, he can cook simple dishes for yourself (but always with supervision).

  • Separate laundry from laundry: classifying between white clothes and colored clothes is an entertaining task in which they can also collaborate.

  • Place clothes in closets: when we pick up the laundry, it can also help us to classify the clothes according to the people that we live at home, to fold it and to place it in the closets.

  • Wash the dishes: with the help of a stool, they can help us from time to time to wash the dishes and glasses.

  • Go buy simple things: Depending on the maturity of each child and according to your own criteria, from the age of nine or ten you could go shopping for simple things, such as a loaf of bread or a brick of milk.

  • Take out the trash: and in the same way as in the previous point, if the garbage containers are close to the perimeter of the house, and according to your criteria the child is qualified to do this task, it could also help us to take out the garbage.

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  • Help with the housework: When cleaning the house, if the child is collaborative and wants to help us, we can ask him to clean the glass, pass the mop or dust with the help of a cloth.

  • Help place the purchase: when we return from the supermarket we can ask our son to help us take out the purchase of the bags, sort it and store things in their respective cabinets or fridge.

Parents are your guides

As we have been saying, the promotion of autonomy in children is not achieved overnight, nor is it to ask them to do a series of tasks and leave them at their leisure, without further ado. It is a long-term job, which should be started as soon as possible and always under these premises:

  • Parents should educate in respect and empathy, while We act as guides for our children, accompanying them along the way and setting an example with our actions.

  • It is important believe in them and their abilities, as well as promoting the value of effort. Only then will we ensure that our children are committed to what they do, and motivated to achieve a goal.

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  • Like any person, Children are also wrong. When this happens, don't highlight your mistakes and take the opportunity to teach him to learn from them. Because all our actions have consequences and error is a wonderful way to learn.

Photos | iStock

Video: Highly Successful Strategies to Guide Young Children's Behavior - Dr. Patricia Vardin (March 2024).