Every parent knows that raising kids is a challenging, but equally rewarding, job — and that it isn’t just providing food, shelter, and clothing to your children. To set them on the right track for the rest of their lives, you have to teach them important, and sometimes difficult lessons about relating to others, engaging with the world around them, and acting responsibly. While child care centers can help kids learn, it is ultimately the parents’ responsibility to teach their toddlers how to navigate through life successfully at every stage.
- Let Them Play — One of the most important aspects of child care is to encourage them to play as much as possible. Of course, you can’t let them run wild 100% of the time, but remember that play is the primary way through which children learn. It’s their job, in a sense. Keeping kids in structured schedules and planned activities can get extremely boring for them, and can curb their natural inquisitiveness. Encourage active play as well as the kinds of toys that help develop fine motor skills.
- Know How to Discipline — Your children will never grow into productive adults if you never discipline them. But you also can’t scream in their faces every time they do something wrong. While there are many approaches to discipline, and you may make some mistakes along the way to finding the solution that works for your family, aggressive discipline doesn’t generally work. There are often natural consequences to kids’ actions, as well, that may be as effective as any punishment you could mete out.
- Let Them Complete Their Own Tasks — Teaching your kids to complete simple tasks will help them learn how to take care of themselves; in fact, more than 11.3 million kids take care of themselves after the school day ends. While it may be easier for you to tackle all the chores that need to be done, it’s important to help your children learn how to be independent. There are no set guidelines as to when children should be washing their own laundry, for example, or cooking meals for themselves; you and your child can decide together whether they are up to the challenge of each responsibility.
Contact Growing Room Child Development Centers today if you want to learn more!
