5 Ways To Increase Your Child’s Autonomy

When you have a crying, tantrum-ing, beautiful little human, it can be hard. If you feel like your child is wonderful 80% of the time, but achingly difficult that other 20%, you’re not alone. This is pretty common in the younger years, especially during toddlerdom, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for the parents!

We’re often struggling with what to do and how to do it. I’ve had many moments where I’m ready to throw in the towel, but I know that my kids need me. I started looking for solutions when my toddler couldn’t seem to get through the day without a tantrum. After trying the chore chart, sticker chart, bear chart, and a thousand other options, I realized that obviously, things were not working for me and her.

I was scouring the internet for ideas of what to do to make her better, but I never stopped for a moment to think myself. I graduated in psychology, with a focus in child psychology, and yet, here I was, studying random posts with anecdotal stories in hopes that it would help my child. And, I think we’ve all been there. Educational background or not, we know our children best. A special chart may work for one, but certainly not the five others. Or, a certain discipline may work for one and not for others. However, there is one thing that works for all children, no matter their age. It’s called autonomy.