Do your kids step up?
When something breaks, or plans go wrong, or some challenge pops up, who do your kids look to for a solution? If the answer is you, then part of your parenting work is done! Your children have learned that they can count on you to help them solve problems and make life better. Now the even harder work of parenting begins!
Can you step back?
Your kids know you can fix a problem. So now they need to learn that they can fix problems! To become excellent problem-solvers, kids need… practice. They will not get it right often, your child will not do what you would do, they will sometimes make the problem worse instead of better. Their ways will take longer, and often be less effective! Sounds awful, but it’s so important to build this ability. Resilience – the ability to handle it when things don’t go well – is the end result of learning competence in many situations, and building confidence as a problem-solver.
I had the chance to explain twelve different activities, for kids ages 2 – 14, that build all that competence and confidence in kids. And build our trust as parents that we can safely step back!
What problem did your child solve without you?
