5 Easy Ways To Encourage Independence During Back to School Season

Back to School season will have your child practicing their decision-making and self-help skills as they begin to venture outside their comfort zone.

The Benefits of Encouraging Independence Early

• Your child learns important self-resilience skills
• Less stressful mornings for you and your child
• You enjoy a more organized home

Try one of these great ideas for the 2019 Back to School season to encourage independence:

1. Grocery Shopping

Invite your child to join you on trips to the grocery store. This gives you an opportunity to teach them about budgeting and making healthy choices. It’s also great to have a helper when the time comes to unload and store the groceries at home.

2. Making Lunches

School days are long, and children need proper nutrition to keep them energized and alert throughout the day.

The best way to ensure your children are eating right and not throwing away food is to encourage them to help prepare their food – and have a say in what goes in their lunchbox to build on their growing problem-solving skills.

When can you expect your child to be able to make their own lunch?

The American Academy of Pediatrics says your child should be able to make their own lunch as early as third grade.

3. Set Goals & Plans to Achieve Them

Setting goals helps your child build self-esteem, a sense of accountability and confidence as they overcome challenges and accomplish the goals they’ve set.

The American Academy of Pediatrics Recommends Helping Your Child Set Goals By:

• Asking questions – what do they want to do?
• Setting specific, achievable goals with them
• Rewarding milestones and achievements

4. Teach Responsibility: Define Household Chores

Your child can start making positive contributions at home early as part of their morning and after school routines.

The key to success is to define your child’s household responsibilities, so they know what to expect.

It’s equally important to choose age-appropriate responsibilities with your child so they feel confident trying them without feeling overwhelmed.

Having too much responsibility too soon – especially during times of change such as a new school year – can be stressful and counterproductive to encouraging independence.

Try some of our suggestions below based on the age of your child.

5. Value Imperfections and Mistakes as Learning Experiences

We often are exposed to media that strives for perfection. Perfect body shapes, picture-perfect food, spotless homes, white teeth and clean clothes.

However, not everything will be perfect every time.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever:

• Spilled, dropped or broken something
• Gotten below a 100 percent on a test or assignment
• Been on a project or team where something didn’t go as planned

*Raises hands*

Help your child recognize that it’s OK when things don’t go as planned or they make a mistake.

When your child attempts something like putting on their shoes or pouring their own juice, focus on encouraging the effort to motivate them to try again or try another way.

We’d like to wish you a safe, healthy and successful school year. We have so many great events and opportunities for learning ahead!

How will you encourage your child to be more independent with their before and after school routines?