self reliance and responsibility

How can we instill self reliance and responsibility into our children?

• 
  
  Allow your children to make some decisions


• 
  
  Encourage your children to try tasks on their own


• 
  
  Model responsibility and self reliance
  When children see you making decisions, taking initiative, and displaying self reliant behaviors, they will engage in similar behavior.


• 
  
  Be your child's coach rather than his sage
  These questions can unlock the answers in your own child's brain so the next time he's in a similar situation he'll be able to call on his own experience and judgment to make a decision.


• 
  
  Be a good support system
  when children truly need your help, they should know that they can count on you. If you teach them to ask for help when they really need it


• 
  
  Provide them with responsibilities
  Chores are great for teaching children how to be self reliant as well as how to work as a team. When we provide children with ways to help out the family, we give them opportunities to build responsibility, self confidence, and self reliance.


• 
  
  Encourage healthy risk-taking: Assure your children that making mistakes is OK. when parents do this, they rob their children of some very powerful tools; self confidence, stick-to-itiveness, and of course, self reliance.

Your children are relying on you to teach them how to approach the world. Sometimes that means they have to watch you to learn how to approach the task. But other times that means, you must watch them from the sidelines and encourage them to figure it out on their own.