Raise Independent Kids with Practical Life Skills

Remember the moment when they placed your baby into your arms? You’re flooded with emotions and feelings you never felt before. I have always loved being a mom, in fact having children made me a better person. It made me realize there was someone else I had to think about with every choice I made. There was no time to be selfish only times to be selfless. Over the years I’ve had 5 children, and I’ve learned a lot along the way. Like how important it is to Raise Independent Kids. Believe me; you’ll thank me for this one day.

Raising Independent Kids – Practical Life Skills

Raise Independent Kids with Practical Life Skills, Natural Learning, Teaching Responsibility, Respectful parenting, Teaching Self Care, Dressing Visual Schedules Cards, Montessori practical life, Parenting, Daily Visual Cards, Dressing Labels for toddlers and preschoolers

Raise Independent Kids – Practical Life Skills

Raising independent kids starts at the beginning… Well maybe not when they are newborns, but definitely when they hit the toddler stage. I know some people are probably saying it can start when they are babies with learning how to self-soothe and sleep through the night… but that’s a whole other post 😉

Children feel a sense of accomplishment, and it builds their confidence when they can perform a task on their own. Whether that is brushing their hair, getting dressed themselves, or fixing a snack these simple things make a huge difference in the mind of a child.

I highly recommend these 2 great books for raising independent kids. You Are Your Child’s First Teacher is wonderful for help and inspiration. Teach Me To Do It Myself is perfect for starting out with Montessori practical life activities.

Practical Life Skills

Practical life skills teach your child to function in his environment. Start off with basics; these are very important as they grow up. Letting your child observe you while you brush your hair, or doing your daily chores will get them curious and want to try it out. Let them.

Teach your child to be respectful of their things. By putting toys away and keeping their clothes off of the floor, they are learning how things should be treated.

I made the mistake years ago (when my oldest child was little) to do all of the clean up when he was asleep. We played all day and enjoyed life, but he rarely participated in cleaning up. I just never really taught him that major life skill… Until he became a teenager and I was like “wait a minute.“

I’m happy to say that he’s doing great now, and it’s never too late to start teaching independence.

I knew I wasn’t going to make that mistake again and I realized you could have fun and be a great mom while teaching valuable life lessons. You have to realize you’re not the mean mom by having your children clean up or dress themselves. You’re the awesome mom that is raising a child to succeed in life. Yes!

I started you off here with some great dressing labels you can use around the house. If you take off your shoes when you enter the house or hang your coats on a hook (rack, closet) put a little label there. I have also included drawer labels for your children’s clothes. These are not only great for teaching independence, but they are great for visual recognition too.

Good Luck Mama – You Got This!