5 Ways to Raise Self-Sufficient Children | MomsGetReal

MomsGetReal Guest Contributor Dixie Somers

One of the biggest complaints about children today is that they are spoiled and don?t know how to take care of themselves. What can you do to teach them how to be self sufficient? Follow these five tips to help raise kids that can take care of themselves.

Let Them Do What They Can

The lessons they learn early in life can really affect them later. Even when they are young, let them accomplish what they are capable of doing by themselves. For example, little ones can read themselves, brush their hair and, as they get a little bit older, bathe themselves. Encourage kids to take responsibility for themselves and have them learn new ways to take care of themselves.

Put Away Baby Items

No need exists for your ten year old to still be using a sippy cup or a fork made for babies. If you treat your children as though they are little babies, then they are sure to act like ones. Let them use grown-up utensils at the kitchen table while they are eating. The exception to this will certainly be steak knives depending upon their exact age. Let them pour their own drinks and cut their own food when they are able.

Schoolwork is for Them

Many parents are spending countless hours working on their children?s school projects with them, and this is really not necessary. The teachers want to see what the children are capable of doing, and they can generally tell when a parent has put an excessive amount of work into a project. Of course, if they ask for help, you can guide them toward the resources for finding their own answers. However, you should never take control of a project. Give guidance and help when requested, but push them to use and implement their own ideas.

Getting a Job

Once your children are into their teenage years, you really should encourage them to get a job. Maybe the family does not need the extra money. Even if you could easily pay for all of their expenses, getting a job teaches kids not to be spoiled and to work for what they want. Furthermore, it might open them up to new possibilities for careers down the road, experience with the difficulties of a work environment, and friendships.

Independence in College

Once your children are in college, they really should be moving toward financial independence. Whether they are paying for storage units, like Rialto CA storage units, to hold all of their larger items while they live in dorms or are paying for their college tuition, they need to be contributing money to their own expenses in some way.

When children do not learn how to be self-sufficient from an early age, they can become overly dependent on their parents and other people in their lives. Be sure to teach children the necessity and joys of relying on one?s self.

This article was written by Dixie Somers on behalf of extraspace.com. To learn more about storage units in Rialto, CA, visit their website.

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Source: http://momsgetreal.com/2013/02/5-ways-to-raise-self-sufficient-children/

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