Month: September 2019

Growing up and learning that we have to take care of ourselves, in everything from how we wash and dress in the morning, to how we interact with the people we meet on a day to day basis is part of growing up and becoming an adult. However, when dealing with a young child, it is to be expected that this process will take time and patience to develop in your child. As children grow up into adolescents, they will crave independence from their parents. However, as toddlers, the thought of being separated from their parents and expected to do some things by themselves is a daunting one. Bear in mind that your child has spent most of its life up until this point not needing to be responsible or independent for anything in its welfare, so naturally, it is a learning curve. The very idea of not having one of their parents around them constantly is enough to make some smaller children upset on the first day at kindergarten. However, as they grow and develop socially, they will realize that they need to adapt to this new environment and group of people.   This is all a part of teaching your child independence, but this is something they cannot achieve properly without parental guidance. So let us consider some of the most highly recommended strategies for introducing your child to the idea of independence. Be empathetic to your child’s struggle The idea of being left on its own in a new environment without its parents is likely to be a daunting prospect as during her entire existence up until the present, she always has had someone familiar who has been a constant companion, provider and carer.   Therefore making sure that you are there emotionally for your child and that you are not belittling its emotions by saying things like “everybody has to grow up” and “stop being a baby” is essential for your child’s emotional wellbeing. If your child asks for your help with a certain task, be positive and reinforce how proud you are of it for trying to do it on its own before calling you to help.  Fixed Routines It has long been understood by pediatric psychologists that children are much happier in general when they have a fixed routine that is followed every day. This helps your child to know what to expect every day and helps them feel at ease with the events that may occur throughout its day.  Using this to your advantage, you can begin by giving your child small and easily completed tasks and responsibilities, such as picking all its toys up when it has finished playing with them, in order to help them understand the concept of independence in a context they understand. Once your child understands exactly what it needs to do every day, chances are it will complete these tasks without too much prompting. Give your child decision-making responsibilities sometimes. Now obviously one of your jobs as a parent is to set appropriate boundaries and ultimately make most of the decisions regarding the more important aspects of your child’s life on its behalf. However, you need to give your child free rein to make their own decisions some of the time.  Do not try and extend too much of a controlling hand over your child, such as in deciding in what order it can have its supper. While you may prefer your child does so in a certain order, micromanaging the way it prefers to do things in some cases can hinder its journey to independent decision making. Limit their choices In some situations, you will need to control the decisions that are made for your child. However, that doesn’t mean that you have to make all the decisions. For example, if you are planning a fun day out and it isn’t a surprise, rather than arbitrarily picking an activity you think your child may like, only to find out that they weren’t in the mood to go to the park that day, provide an opportunity to make a choice. So rather than mandating a forced trip to the park, give your child the option of three appropriate activities to choose from (such as going to the park, the beach or to Grandma’s house) which will help to lay a sturdy foundation to learn how to make more complex decisions later in life by giving it the freedom of choice within certain parameters. Don’t be overbearing! It is normal and natural for you to want to assist your child with everything in its life, from cutting their food to holding her hands as you walk down the road. While some of these are completely necessary for early childhood, as your child gets older, not only will it crave independence, assistance will also become unnecessary as your child develops.  In fact, chances are everybody has seen this situation in the past, a child that grew up with controlling and overbearing parents. Usually, those children tend to grasp independence a lot later than those whose parents allow their children to explore and work things out for themselves, which helps build a strong base for many problem-solving skills as an adult. In some situations, children learn the best when given the necessary leeway to figure things out for themselves and to self-evaluate their behavior.  Kidz Village is a trusted and reputable name amongst the crowds of International Kindergartens in Bangkok. Our reputation has developed from our dedication to using only the best and most highly regarded teaching methodologies and high-quality resources in order to give our students the best possible chance at academic and personal success. For more information on who we are, our facilities or to consult with an experienced member of staff, please do not hesitate to contact us on +66- 2-888-3337

Instilling in your child self-discipline is something that should be considered after infancy when the initial joy and pleasure of having your baby bond with you is one its first experiences. However, this blissful state of being comes to an end sooner or later, depending on the rate of development of each individual baby.    While it is natural for your child to feel attachment to you for more than a decade after it is born, you should teach your child that there are some tasks that need completing by herself when she has developed a sense of basic reasoning. It is important to introduce the concept of focussing on tasks and getting them done without constant reminding by yourselves as parents, such as spending a set time period working on homework as a priority before playtime. So here are nine ways that you can help teach your child develop these skills early on. 1. Consistency is Key Setting firm foundations and making sure that you stick to those foundations is key. After all, you could have the most attentive and well-behaved child, but if you are teaching her inconsistent habits it won’t make a difference to her self-discipline. This can start small with things such as  Teaching that toys not being played with need putting away Personal hygiene such as hand washing  However, once you set this boundary or habit, you must stick to it and maintain your position, no matter how many times you have to remind your child. 2. Rewards and Consequence One of the primary ways that a young child learns is through action and consequence. If a child knows that if she does well and follows all of her after-school instructions that have been set, she will receive praise and possibly a reward from you and/or the school. Consequently she is more likely to be motivated to do it. However, if she is made aware that there are consequences for any wrong doing, such as others who may be inconvenienced or hurt as a result, she will learn to avoid making these actions in future.  3. Routine An organised routine is helpful in providing a structure so that your child has a reasonable expectation of how her day should turn out. This should make her more settled and thus more conducive to adopt a disciplined approach to life and learning.  4. Always Use Positive Learning The concept of mistakes in the course of learning and decision making should be promoted as a necessary and acceptable part in life, without any fear of being reprimanded or punished.  Your child should be made aware that there is no shame in making mistake and hence she would not attempt to hide it. Furthermore, it should then make her more receptive to accept guidance positively. 5. Set Clear and Simple Rules Your child is probably already aware by the age for 3 or 4 years that she has certain rules to follow either at school or in the home. However, the exact rules that she needs to follow and how to follow them can be slightly harder to grasp without assistance. Therefore, when teaching your child to learn corrections it is vital that you also clearly lay out your rules and boundaries for how she is to behave in the home and at school. Through repetitive and positive encouragement, she will start to follow these rules on her own.  6. Set Fun and Educational Activities Teaching your child how to play a song on her xylophone or riding a bike for the first time is a gratifying feeling. Using that sense of accomplishment can help you encourage her to extend this interest to other activities both at home and school. Bike riding could entice her towards other sporting activities, or that learning to play the xylophone could inspire her to perform in the school play. 7. Frameworks Most of the time, a child needs to learn through more than just exposure to the correct way of doing things. In order to learn things efficiently and effectively, she needs a proper structure to learning that incorporates both the need for refining her skills and practise them at the same time. Setting up a proper learning process can really speed up the time it takes for your child to absorb and repeat good habits and lessons that she has learned. This means she will then be able to apply that knowledge in the outside world even sooner. 8. Lead By Example Your behaviour will also have an impact on how your child behaves and you too should try to adopt the same rules as you are instilling on your child. This will help motivate her as all children attempt to emulate their parents’ behaviour and having them emulate positive behaviour that you exhibit will help confirm what you tell them about how people are expected to behave. 9. Teach Them That Setbacks and Failure are Normal Every adult knows that you must fail occasionally to be pointed in the right direction, and this is a vital lesson for children. This will help deter them from becoming discouraged at their initial failures and inspire them to do better next time We hope that you have found this article helpful; we here at Kidz Village believe that teaching children to be free, disciplined and inquisitive learners early on is key to their academic and personal success later in life. Our widely acclaimed International School in Bangkok strives to provide the best environment to our students. For more information please call +66-2-888-3337 and we would be very pleased to offer any assistance that you may require.