As we begin our final month of the 2023/2024 school year, I would like to recap a few things as we look ahead to the summer and the start of grade 3. As grade 3s, your child will be in the oldest primary grade and seen as leaders to the younger students and incoming kindergarteners.

Keeping this mind, it is important to remember that being responsible and resilient are not something that happen naturally or magically because your child reaches a certain age. They are skills that have to be practiced by experiencing life. I have mentioned previously that safety is paramount but if your child can gain an opportunity and learn a strategy that will help them, why not let them try? Adults have more experience and may have gone through similar circumstances. Although our first response is to shelter our kids from become ‘hurt’, we have to allow them to experience the challenge and learn something from that experience so they can do it differently next time. We can encourage, guide, and nurture, but we should not intervene and do it for them. How will they know what to do if they have never seen it before?

Allow your child to be more responsible by letting them do things. Do not do everything for them. Things such as clearing the table, washing the dishes, making their beds, putting away their laundry, tidying up their things or the mess they have made are ways that your child can contribute to the mundane things parents do on a day to day basis. Your child does not become a teenager or adult and miraculously become responsible. On the other side, will your continue to do all the things for them even when they become teenagers? How will your child feel?

Interacting with others also takes practice through opportunities that arise. It is important that we interact with others on a day to day basis as adults. This takes practice by learning how to navigate situations. As parents, we can not, nor should we, intervene when our child is interacting with others. Unless safety is an issue, if situations arise between your child and another, listen objectively (without judgement), and allow your child to figure out what they need to to do with your guidance and encouragement. If your child is unsure, prompt them with ideas and possible things to say and allow your child to verbalize and express themselves. If you intervene  and talk on their behalf, your child may appear weak. Give them support by standing with them, but allow your child to express their frustration.

Help your child become independent by allowing them to experience situations that will help them to grow and become resilient. As parents, unless safety is an issue, allow your child to face challenges so they can continue to grow in all ways including physically and emotionally.