As children grow up, they begin to do more and more things on their own. They want to be independent, and it’s up to us as their parents to instill that confidence in them to do so.
Ian is a little behind on some things due to his brain tumors and Autism diagnosis. One of the things he struggles with is fine motor skills. A fine motor skill is the use of small muscle movements in our hands and fingers. Some examples of this would be holding a pencil, cutting with scissors, and buttoning clothes. Ian has seen an occupational therapist since his diagnosis in 2019 to help him with these skills.
Our life has been crazy since the day we found out about his tumors (3 years ago today actually). It was easy to just do things for Ian just to get him out the door, this includes getting himself dressed. And as I mentioned in my last blog post, I blinked and all of a sudden, I have an almost 5-year-old who can’t zipper or button his clothes. I’m not a perfect mom, but this is fixable. So, we’ve been working really hard on teaching Ian how to dress himself.
Last night, Ian picked out his PJ’s, and began to put them on. His first attempt at his pants resulted in both of his legs being in the same hole. We took them off and started over, getting it right the second time. His shirt he initially put on backwards. We got that turned around, but then came the buttons. There was determination in his eyes to do it himself, and I sat on the floor of his bedroom and cheered him on. And you know what?
He did do it! He got his shirt all buttoned up!
The excitement on his face to have accomplished something he said he couldn’t do was something I’ll never forget. And isn’t that what life is about?
You aren’t always going to get something the first try, or even the second and third. But you keep trying until you do. That feeling of accomplishment heightens our self-confidence, and self-confidence itself is a huge skill to get through life.
When children do something as simple as dress themselves, they feel accomplished, and this begins to build the building blocks to their confidence early on in life. It helps with fine motor skills, coordination, balance, and even cognitive skills as they begin to remember and understand how to dress themselves.
When you are in a rush, I know it can be easy to do it for them. I’m guilty too. But despite saving time, it hinders a child’s development. Working on these skills now will help them in the future.
