How to give your children room to grow.

For any mom knowing when to let go is the hardest thing to do. It doesn't happen over night you must take things slowly. You always have a need to protect your child but they do need room to make mistakes and grow.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• patience
• time
• a sense of danger

1. When they are ready there are usally signs. When is it time? For every child it is different, for some it begins when they start crawling, walking or just a little later. When your child is ready for their space usually they start pulling away from you or they aren't as cuddly as before.
2. For every parent this is one of the most challenging things to do, let go. You need to make sure that the area that they play is safe, their room is usually a good place to start. Most parents have a child gate, if not they are inexpensive. You should take your child to their room and get them to play with some blocks or any of their favorites. Quietly and slowly take a step back every few seconds. If they start to follow go back and start over, it may take a few tries but when you reach the door close the child gate and your child will probably be too into playing to notice. If your child does notice and gets angry just open it and stand at the door until their interest is away from you and try again. This step is time consuming but it gives your child a chance to explore and learn. Start small, check on your child in intervals start with every five minutes, I would not recommend leaving your child in their room alone for more than twenty minutes until they are three or four.
3. Outdoor play is a little different due to the fact that children are always pushing boundaries. This is where you begin to teach your child about outdoor safety, like where they are not allowed to go and where they can play. Set up boundaries of where they can and cannot go, watch closely to make sure that your boundaries are enforced. You should start by just letting your child play a few feet away while you watch. After a few tries at this and your child knows that you are still watching move a few more feet away until you are watching your child from porch or patio. When your children reach school age this is the time for them to play alone outside, keep a window open so you can watch them. Always make sure that your boundaries are fresh in their mind by reminding them and watch to make sure that your child is playing by the rules. If you are still uncomfortable start a outdoor hobby that you can watch your child while you are enjoying yourself as well.
4. During bath time you should use a little patience your children won't be able to give themselves a bath until later. When your child turns three is usually a good time to give them a few minutes at a time alone. Start out with a minute or two just walking outside the bathroom door and listening. When you see that they can stay alone and not hurt themselves they are ready to be left alone for most of their bath time. Just sit in the next room and listen out for them, you can check on them from time to time just because the bath can be a dangerous place.

Tips & Warnings

• There will be boo boos we have all had them and so will our children, just be there to kiss them better.
• If you are not confident that your child is ready to be left alone wait until they are.
• Do not leave your children without any supervision, be close by just in case.