Lockdowns and independence
Hello,
Firstly to folks in NSW, I have such empathy for you at having to endure another four weeks of lockdown. I am not going to offer advice or tips, you know you can find them on the blog if you need them but I just want to let you know that I am thinking of you. Lockdowns affect people differently and some suffer more than others, I really hope you are doing okay. Hit reply if you feel like venting or have a question, I will get back to you asap.
If you are in lockdown somewhere else in the world too, I hope you are also doing okay and feel free to reach out if you want to chat.
We have just come out of our fifth lockdown today in Melbourne and I am really happy for the kids that they were able to go back to school this morning. The happiness beaming from the face of our 12 year old as he made his way out the door made it clear how much he has missed it.
The 12 year old is the youngest of our five and as he got himself organised for school last night, including making his own lunch, I thought back to the days where I was the one making lunch boxes the night before for all the kids (I made snack boxes for the ones not at school).
It was again a reminder of how sometimes it takes a while for the benefits of your parenting to come through. Working with the kids to increase their independence and allowing them to do for themselves what they are capable of does take time and effort but from someone who is at the other end of this journey, I can tell you it is definitely worth it so hang in there!
I reflected upon this and other truths about growing independent kids in a recent blog post.
Growing independent kids isn’t as simple as letting them fend for themselves! It does require effort from us parents and it can be hard work at the start but it is an effort that reaps huge rewards for both parties. You can read the post in full here where I cover the following truths:
You will make decisions they will not like
You may be parenting differently from those around you
You will need to invest time in teaching them skills
You will have to remind them about things
You will be increasing their self-confidence
You will be giving them needed life skills
You will be freeing up time over the long term
Take care,
Nic