Confidence is Growing

I'm feeling very pleased with my little man this morning.  He decided he wanted to walk to school by himself.  Well when I say that, what I actually mean is I drive him to school (we live too far from school to walk or bike) and park up in the nearby car park.  I walked with him to the crossing by the school and then he went in by himself which meant he also had around 10 minutes in the playground by himself. 

For Jack this is a major breakthrough and a sure sign of growing confidence.  I have to say I thought I could be walking him into school at 16. 

But you know what that would have been fine too.  All kids are different and that's how it should be.  Who wants a load of clones?  Sure most of the kids have been going in by themselves for ages now but there are still others who want their parents to wait with them.  Our children will be adults before we know it.  There's no rush. 

Please don't rush your children into growing up.  They will do it when they are good and ready.  They will feel good about the move from little kid to big kid and so will you, even if the thought of them no longer needing you is a little scary.

Confidence building tips:

• Let your child know you support their choices
• Encourage your child to be himself/herself
• Encourage your child to talk about friends, school, likes, dislikes, feelings...
• LISTEN.  Letting your child know they are important enough to give them all of your attention for a while gives kids a huge confidence boost.
• Make things fun
• Give lots of genuine praise

Happy Parenting

Wendy