Letting Your Children Make Mistakes Is Healthy
Parents often tend to be overprotective of their children. This is due to the belief that, with their intervention, they will make things easier for them and provide them with a better quality of life. However, letting your children make mistakes is healthy since it allows them to learn to manage themselves and solve various situations.
No one is born learned, therefore, it is important to err in order to grow. Every human being needs this process in order to build their own emotional well-being and, at the same time, develop various capacities.
While it is true that parents often hesitate between when to intervene and when not to intervene, the best thing to do is try to maintain a balance. Parents should be lifelong counselors, counselors, support, not crutches that render their children useless and destroy their self-esteem over time.
Inevitably there comes a time when a child cannot make a toy work. You may not be able to perform an everyday task. There, parents must learn to know how far to let their children go wrong and when it is better to give them a little help. For many, this may be difficult, but anything is possible once you are aware of it.
Autonomy
Two types of autonomies can be identified. One that has to do with physical development: motor skills and the ability to coordinate. Another aspect of autonomy is psychological, which has to do with expressing wishes, making decisions and understanding one’s own actions. The education of children contemplates this process of reaching autonomy in the broadest sense.
Promoting autonomy is extremely important. It is necessary to train adults with skills and strategies for life. Those patterns are established during childhood.
Promote the autonomy of children
One of the most obvious reasons that parents do not allow their children to make decisions is the fear that they will make mistakes. Nobody wants to see a child feeling bad. However, it falls into overprotection.
Another reason is that some parents can be controlling. You want the child to do everything exactly as the parent thinks is right. This happens out of fear of criticism from the environment, and even to avoid feelings of guilt when a child fails.
On the other hand, contemporary life is structured by demanding time routines. A lot of work and little time to let the kids learn to do things for themselves. Learning requires time and patience, which are sometimes not available.
Neither of those are valid justifications . Letting your children make mistakes is an essential exercise for life. Parents are required to understand how to carry out this task effectively.
Of interest: 4 things detrimental to self-esteem
How to start letting your children make mistakes?
The first thing is to be aware that when the child begins to do things by himself he begins to make mistakes. Then, naturally, will come frustration.
Frustration is not bad at all, it is the opportunity to improve yourself and set new goals. But these thoughts do not come alone, adults have to instill them in the child.
Perseverance
When a child wants to help with a chore around the house, for example, it is good to accept their help. And, of course, incentivize it. If he makes a mistake, motivate him to try again. Starting over must be assumed as something natural. This learning occurs through example. If parents are persistent and know how to handle their frustration, children will learn to do it too and will gain happiness.
Patience
Probably after a couple of tries, the child starts crying. The first impulse of parents may be to solve the problem so that it stops doing it. Another option that can help more is to sit down and give options on how to solve the problem.
Reasonable goals
The entire learning process of a child goes through different stages. The goals to be met must be possible according to the capacities that the child has developed according to his age. This guarantees that the child will achieve some goals. And so you will strengthen your self-esteem and encourage you in your childhood learning.
It is not valid to face the challenges with “we are capable of everything”. Children have stages they must meet. If they are overextended they can become frustrated.
Homework is a good tool
Collaborating at home carries a series of positive values. Cooperation, integration and coexistence. Autonomy is also promoted and the child will be trained to fend for himself in the future.
Allow crying
Although it can be exasperating to see a child cry and it can be very difficult to let your children make mistakes, it is necessary to understand that you have to let children express frustration, fear and anger. There is no need to panic or suppress them.
You can always chat with them afterward to help them channel their negative emotions and teach them to move on. Suppressing crying is not a good strategy, nor is minimizing the moment they are going through.
The key? Let your children make mistakes and go, little by little, being autonomous human beings capable of facing life.
