Before studying the development of independence in older preschoolers, it is necessary to define the concept of “independence.”
By independence we mean a certain character trait, which manifests itself in the fact that a person is proactive, has adequate self-esteem and feels personal responsibility for what he does.
A person’s behavior is closely related to the work of his thoughts, feelings and will.
This connection has two sides:
- To form independent judgments and actions, it is necessary that a person has correctly formed emotional and mental processes;
- the development of independence gradually makes people stronger and develops the ability to make their own highly motivated decisions and implement them despite difficulties.
What is independence?
- Ability to take initiative where necessary
- Perform daily tasks without external reminders
- Correct use of past experience in similar situations
- Adequate assessment of one’s capabilities and control over the situation
Development of independence in work activity
Work activity contains many opportunities for the child to develop awareness and purposefulness in his actions. Work teaches you to be persistent in achieving your goal.
Already at a very early age, children feel the need to interact with objects from the adult world: they want to wash the dishes, they want to vacuum, set the table, etc. This desire manifests itself in many simple everyday tasks. Household work is a very good means of instilling independence in children.
Older preschoolers begin to change their attitude towards the responsibilities they have. They begin to take responsibility for their work. The child now learns to do something not for himself, but for others. He begins to take initiative, he begins to have a different attitude towards himself. His self-esteem becomes more objective.
Performing the simplest work tasks, preschoolers begin to interact with each other: together they distribute their responsibilities, learn to negotiate, and act in such a way that a friend has the opportunity to continue this action.
Older preschoolers are able to help each other, exercise control over each other, and correct each other. They love to take initiative and be independent. They are not offended by evaluations of their work, are not inclined to praise themselves, and are very modest when evaluating their work.
It is very important to accustom a child to basic household chores, as this allows him to instill independence in the child and establish a special relationship with an adult. Children and adults provide each other with real mutual assistance, coordinate their actions, and distribute roles. If this relationship arises before school, then in the future it will only develop.
Encourage initiative
When your baby is still small, don’t stop him from taking the initiative, because these are the first steps towards further independence. If he wants to do something and it does not threaten his life and health, allow him.
Let him try to put on his shoes, put away his toys, or even wash an unbreakable plate. You may need to redo or complete something later, but don’t forget to praise your child - he tried so hard!
Experts advise when teaching independence to be patient and not to swear at your child if he does something wrong, but to gently point out his mistake and show him how to do it correctly.
Independence as a mental state
There is also a point of view that independence is a special mental state in which a person:
- sets a goal;
- keeps in mind the ultimate goal of his actions and organizes himself in such a way as to achieve this goal;
- able to act even in difficult circumstances without the help of other people. Compares the result obtained with what he planned to achieve earlier.
Having analyzed all possible definitions for the concept of “independence,” we concluded that independence must be understood as a personality quality in which a person takes initiative, is critical of himself, is aware of his own responsibility for carrying out activities, knows how to plan these activities, and sets specific goals for himself. problem, finds ways to solve it without the help of others, and solves it based on his knowledge, skills and experience.
Another interesting definition of independence is from A.A. Lyublinskaya, who claims that a child’s independence does not arise on its own, and a little person is not born independent. This quality needs to be developed. The development of independence can and should begin already in the preschool period of childhood.
Wait for a request for help
If your baby has been busy with something for a long time, for example, putting on his favorite blouse, but he just can’t do it, don’t rush to run to the rescue. If you are not in a hurry, give your child time.
Wait until he asks you to help him. When you help, explain how to do it correctly, praise him that he did almost everything himself and next time everything will definitely work out.
The concept of independence in literature
Different literary sources interpret independence differently. This was paid attention to at the end of the 19th century.
In the works of K.N. Wentzel described how important it is to develop independence for preschool children.
Throughout the 20th century, domestic teachers studied the independence of the child in connection with teaching children about life. Researchers considered the development of independence one of the most important principles of personality development.
According to S.L. According to Rubinstein, independence is an integral quality of a holistic personality, which unites rationality, emotionality and will in a person.
V.D. Ivanov noted in his works that independence is inherent in absoluteness, because it is simply impossible to be free and independent while living among people. Those. one way or another, a person is always led by someone or something, which means that it is simply impossible to be independently in society.
Allow your child to choose what he wants
In any matter that concerns the interests of a child, it is important to take into account his opinion. Starting from the small things, what to wear for a walk today, ending with the decision whether to go to this or that circle or section, or whether it is not interesting.
If parents or other relatives always decide everything for the child, this does not at all contribute to his independence.
Play as a means of developing children's independence
Play is the main activity of a child during the preschool period. However, its importance does not decrease in the future.
According to L.S. According to Vygotsky, in preschool age there are two main channels along which a child’s life flows: games and work. He wrote that play is a rich source for the formation of a child’s personality. Thanks to the game, positive emotions are born in the child, which contributes to a more active and favorable course of all mental processes.
The use of gaming techniques has a huge impact on the formation of independence and creative activity in a child. She also develops the qualities of his personality. The game is also attractive to children because many different situations arise in it, which force them to act creatively and independently, as well as to show resourcefulness and quick wits.
Assign household chores to your child
Let it be something not too difficult, but the child should do it after some time without reminders from you. Let it be cleaning your toys and clothes, caring for your pet, or something else.
The child should feel that he now has things to do on an equal basis with adults and be responsible for them. With age, the range of responsibilities expands, and their complexity increases in accordance with increased abilities.
Stages of development of independence in a child
The first stage of development of this quality: a preschooler, in his usual conditions, when he has already formed many habits, acts independently and without reminders from an adult. He cleans up his toys after himself and decides to wash his hands when it’s time to eat. He himself says words of politeness when he needs to ask someone for something or thank someone for something.
The second stage: the preschooler begins to use familiar methods of action in circumstances that are unusual for him, which are still close in essence to his everyday circumstances.
Third stage: the child acts independently even in situations that he has never encountered before.
The action he has learned begins to be of a generalized nature and is transferred to all circumstances that the preschooler encounters, even if this happens for the first time.
Let your child find something to do on his own
If adults are busy, the child must figure out what to do on his own. Playing alone is one of the forms of child independence. There are many things a preschooler can do to keep himself occupied, from playing with cars to drawing.
Already at one year old, the baby should be able to occupy himself for a while, and with age, the duration of independent activities should only increase.
Signs of independence in children
The literature studied made it possible to clarify what characteristics children with developed independence possess:
- Firstly, preschoolers show independence differently than adults. This is not spontaneous behavior, independent of the requirements of the teacher. This is the child’s independence in solving those problems and complying with the conditions that an adult sets for the child.
- The degree of independence in children increases as children develop. It becomes more formed when the child masters increasingly difficult actions from a mental or physical point of view.
- There are three stages in the formation of independence in a person. Let's discuss them in a little more detail.
Stop overcontrolling your child
Overprotection suppresses any initiative. Already as adults, children who grew up with overprotective parents are afraid to make independent decisions, which negatively affects self-esteem and, accordingly, on all aspects of life, including career and personal life.
If you notice signs of overprotection, analyze its causes. Perhaps you should contact a psychologist to help you cope with your anxiety.
Formation of children's independence in preschool age
The formation of independence at the age of preschool education is associated with the preschooler’s mastery of various types of activities. Gradually, through this activity, the child begins to show his own position. If at first the child’s independence manifests itself in actions of a reproductive nature, then gradually it develops into creative initiative.
The child’s consciousness begins to work more clearly, he strives to control himself and evaluates his actions. Moreover, different types of activities influence different aspects of this side of the personality.
For example, play activities make it possible to develop initiative and activity in a child. Many scientific studies describe different approaches to play with children.
For example, M.I. Lisina describes the essence of the game as a form of communication. D.B. Elkonin perceives the game as a way of mastering the activities of adults. J. Piaget writes that play is a manifestation of the development of a child’s mental abilities.
All these approaches, focusing on one aspect of the game, do not fully describe the essence of children's games as a whole.
How to raise an independent child
When developing independence in young children, parents need to be patient. After all, sometimes it’s easier to pick up and feed the baby, put away toys for him, etc., thereby hindering his own initiative. It depends only on the parents how independent, independent and responsible the little one will grow up to be.
Basic recommendations on how to help your child become independent:
- Allow your child to make his own choices . You don’t need to decide everything for your child, give him a choice: “Shall we go for a walk to the park or playground today?”, “What will you have for breakfast: an omelet or a casserole?”, “Which blouse will we wear: green or blue?” Thus, the baby learns to think and make decisions.
- Ask your child for help, trust him with simple chores around the house. For example, helping to sort out a bag of groceries or throwing out unnecessary trash while cleaning. Always praise your child, even if you are not entirely satisfied with the result. The baby will know that his mother appreciates his help, and he will want to help again.
- Let your child explore and gain experience. A child can take apart a new toy not because he wants to break it, he is interested in how it works. Try to get rid of words such as “don’t touch!”, “don’t run!”, “don’t jump!”
- Assign an older child to carry out daily chores , instill a hard work ethic, for example, watering flowers or changing the water for a cat or dog. At first he will need to be monitored and reminded. Don’t forget to encourage your baby, and when guests come, tell him what a responsible and independent child you have and that thanks to him, such beautiful flowers grow on your windowsill.
- There is no need to do for your child what he already knows how to do. If your child can already hold a spoon and bring it to his mouth, allow him to feed himself.
- Teach your child, show by your own example. First, show how to make your bed, then do it together, and then let your baby do it on his own.
- Allow your child to make mistakes. After breakfast, invite your little one to wash his plate. And it doesn’t matter how well he does it. Do not criticize, on the contrary, praise him, and while the baby is captivated by the game, wash him properly.
- Think about each of your prohibitions. Of course, there are necessary prohibitions for the safety of the baby (crossing the road in the wrong place, overeating on sweets), but sometimes parents say the word “no” for their own convenience. After all, it’s easier to forbid your child to touch the mop than to show him how to properly wash the floor.
- Help when the child asks. Teach your child to ask you for help when he is unable to do something on his own. But it shouldn’t look like your child doesn’t want to put away the toys because he’s tired, and you immediately start cleaning. No, parents' help is not needed here at all. A child needs help if he really cannot cope with some task on his own.
- Create conditions for independent activities or games. For example, engage in creativity. If a child is already old enough, he does not have to sculpt, draw, or make appliques under the supervision of an adult. And don’t forget about freedom of choice, let the child decide for himself whether he wants to sculpt or draw today. Teach your child to find activities for himself.
- Ask your child for advice or opinion. When the baby was still very small, his parents decided everything for him. If you continue to adhere to this behavior, the child gets used to the fact that any problem can be solved for him. And if you consult with your child, he feels important.
- Believe in your child . If you support your child and believe in his strength, then later this will give great success in fostering independence. Praise him, tell him. that everything will work out for him, ask. does he need your help?
- Try to avoid overprotection. There is no need to constantly lead the child by the hand, prohibit him from riding a bicycle quickly, and so on. Thus, you suppress his initiative and the baby may develop not entirely adequate self-esteem.
- Set the right example. After all, kids always copy the behavior of their loved ones. If you never wash dishes after eating, then your child will most likely never do the same.
To summarize, we can say that the most important thing for raising an independent child is simply not to interfere with him and not to do for him what he himself can do, but only to show and guide. There is no need to look for excuses about lack of time (it’s easier to feed or dress the baby), or that the baby is still very small. Thus, parents gradually each time more and more hinder the development of independence and initiative of the baby.
Now there are a lot of useful books and lessons on the topic “how to teach a child to be independent.” We recommend that you take Elena Danilova’s online intensive course on developing independence and responsibility “Myself.” The author gives a lot of interesting information about nurturing independence in children from 1 to 12 years of age.
Independence in productive activities
During productive activities, the child develops his independence from adults; he learns to independently find adequate methods of self-expression.
During communication in the preschool period, a detailed form of communication with peers begins to appear. The basis of communication is respect for each other, which can only appear towards an equal person. At the age of five to seven, the child begins to perceive his comrades as individual individuals. He has a strong need to imitate his peers or compete with them.
Older preschoolers also have other features in the manifestation of their individuality. At the age of six, the child begins to show the child’s initiative and independence in a more subtle and varied manner.
This is manifested in the kind of plans the child builds and how widely the plots of group games unfold.
The child begins to try to independently perform complex and responsible tasks. Children are much better at assessing other people's work and behavior.
How to determine the level of children's independence?
Also, in older preschoolers, a sufficient level of independence is manifested in the fact that he persistently strives to solve assigned tasks, acting independently of adults. He tries to mobilize all his accumulated experience and knowledge for this purpose and is in search of effective solutions. All of this is indicative of the personal maturation that must occur in preparation for further schooling.
A child’s independence is the result of the fact that a preschooler obeys adults and also shows his own initiative. The number of opportunities that he has to demonstrate the child’s independence in a variety of life conditions depends on how well a preschooler has mastered the rules of behavior.
So, by independence we mean a personality quality in which a person takes initiative, is critical of himself, is aware of his own responsibility for the implementation of his activities, knows how to plan these activities, sets specific tasks, finds ways to solve them without the help of others, and solves them, based on your knowledge, skills and experience.
We will discuss the features of the development of this quality in older preschoolers in one of the following articles.
Independence of a senior preschooler child
The independence of older preschoolers is also manifested in the fact that they learn to organize their activities.
They no longer take the initiative to act contrary to the demands of their parents. Older preschoolers use their own initiative to do better and better what they are assigned, to do the work so that it meets the requirements of an adult.
The child begins to show mental criticality and is inclined to express his own position, which is independent of the point of view of other people.
According to the works of G.A. Uruntaeva, at first the child shows independence by imitating others. This is his own initiative, his desires and aspirations. This is due to the fact that natural processes occur in the child’s brain. He learns to imitate, he develops feelings of sympathy for other people, he learns to empathize with them, wants to support them emotionally, and is interested in other people.
Next comes the stage of transference or representation, to which anticipation is added. However, then the child begins to intensively experience his own capabilities.
Next, the child begins to explore ways to vary and improve his own activities. And the development of creativity closes this process at its highest point.
Therefore, we can assume that the degree of development of independence in a preschooler depends on what mechanism prevails in him, influencing his activity.
Thus, we conclude that every child has a natural need to be independent.
