When my son was 15 months old, he had a babysitter who taught him how to put away his toys before he took something else out. One day when I was done working, I went to pick him up on my way home. As soon as he saw me, he started picking up what he was playing with, put the cover on the box and put the box on the shelf. Then he ran over and gave me a huge welcome. I was floored!
He doesn’t do that at home! My babysitter who I now thought was an angel had worked with him that week teaching him how to put things away before he took out the next toy. From that day on, I realized what my son was capable of. Now, he had put toys away before, but this was different. He did it with no help and no one had to ask him.
This little bit of independence was great for both of us. He was proud of what he was accomplishing, and I was ecstatic that I had less to pick up around the house.
As an entrepreneur working from home with my children around, I struggle on a daily basis trying to decide what my priorities are for the day. I want time to move ahead with my business, yet I also want to spend time with my children. How do I find the time to get other things accomplished? It is a mother’s dream to raise children who pick up after themselves.
Now I have to admit, this idea of picking up worked better for the babysitter than it did for me, at first. However, I learned a lesson that day. My children are capable of doing things on their own if I teach them how to do it and am consistent with expecting them to be independent.
Raising independent children is helping all of us in so many ways. If my children can accomplish things on their own, then I don’t need to be distracted from what I am doing every few minutes to help them with something.
The independence seems to be helping my children as well. Instead of having to ask for something, they know they can just get it or do it themselves. They are very confident children and tend to teach their friends how to be independent, too. The more they do on their own, the more they realize they can do, and the more they want to do.
