What parents can do for 3-year-olds. 3 tips that increased the things they can do by themselves

What parents can do for 3-year-olds.

How much can children actually do by themselves??

I think my children have really increased the number of things they can do by themselves
since they turned three.😊

This isn't about them being able to study, but
this time it's aboutdaily life habits.☺️

For example, after waking up in the morning...

• Going to the bathroom

• Setting out cups, chopsticks, and spoons before a meal

• Carrying their used plates to the sink

• Wiping their mouth and drinking tea

• Brushing their teeth

• Putting pajamas in the laundry basket

• Opening the drawer and choosing clothes to wear

• Putting on socks

• Filling their water bottle with tea

• Preparing their school lunch bag

• Leave school items like hats out in the entryway

• Choose and line up the shoes they will wear

Without me even saying anything, before I knew it,
all three of them were able to do it😳😳

Huh? Does that really happen?
Isn't that amazing??

I'm not bragging!
I'm sorry if it sounds like I am.

But it really is amazing😳

Children have such wonderful potential!!

……Is that an exaggeration?😂

But I really am impressed😳😳
I don't think I could do this much when I was four😂😂

I think the younger twins were probably able to do it by watching their older brother.

So, why was my firstborn son
able to do it by the second term of preschool?

While looking back,
I summarized what we have done in our home.

If you are interested, please take a look until the end😊

First, let them make "choices"

I think it all started with letting them make choices.

"Which socks do you want? Choose one!"

"What should we do with the clothes you took off? The basket? The floor?"

"It's raining, so regular shoes? Or rain boots?"

I kept talking to them like this and repeating the process of letting the children choose.

I offer verbal encouragement, but I don't do it for them.

To be precise, I was so busy taking care of twins that I might not have been able to help them out 🥲🙏

You might think it's faster if an adult chooses and prepares things for them, but in our case, it might have been faster for them to prepare things themselves 🫣 I started by having my eldest son choose his own things ☺️

Organize things so that children can do it themselves

I keep children's items within their reach as much as possible.

Clothing drawers.
Pants drawers.
Sock drawers.
Drawers for lunch bags and handkerchiefs.

Everything is in a place where the children can open and take things out by themselves ☺️

Chopsticks, spoons, forks, cups, bowls, and water bottles are also always kept in the same place where the children know where they are.

When they don't know where something is, I teach them exactly where it belongs.

Then the children can smoothly prepare the things they have chosen.

Since there is less 'searching,' 'not being able to reach,' or 'not knowing where things are,' I think they are able to prepare without feeling it's a chore 😊👍

Don't praise, but 'be impressed'

When my child says 'I did it myself,' I try not to praise them, but rather to show that I am impressed 😊

When praising them,

"That's amazing"

instead of,

when you are impressed,

"That's amaaaazing!!"

is the way to go.

Do you see the difference?😂

However, I believe this is important.

Children don't do things for themselves
because they want to be praised.

If they are ready,
if they can do it by themselves,

"Mom is surprised and happy"

I think that is what makes them happy and keeps them doing it☺️

So, every morning, until all the preparations are finished,
I pretend not to notice.

And when the preparations are complete,
I act incredibly surprised,

“What! You’re already done!?”

“That’s amazing! I’m so surprised!”

“You were able to do it without Mom’s help?”

“Mornings are busy, so it really helps me out when you do it yourself!! I’m so happy!”

I make sure to tell them that 😊😊

It really does help me, so
it’s not an act; it’s truly how I feel 😂

“Doing it by myself” is a small sense of accomplishment

Choosing for themselves, preparing for themselves, and finishing to the end.

I would be happy if they could build up those small accomplishments
and gain confidence little by little ☺️

There have been times when I thought,
“If they start doing too much by themselves
and stop relying on me,
will I feel a little lonely?”

But, that wasn't the case at all 😆 lol

More than that,
with the children doing things for themselves,
I gained more peace of mind and time 🥰🥰

And, I can use that extra time
for the children again 🥰🥰

I think it can be difficult
to just tell a child to "do it yourself."

Making it so they can choose for themselves.
Keeping things in a place where they can reach them.
Celebrating together when they succeed.

By parents setting up the environment just a little bit,
the things a child can "do by themselves"
might just keep increasing 😊

I hope you all
will try to nurture
your child's ability to "do things by themselves" 😊

Thank you for reading
until the end 🥰

You are doing a great job with your daily parenting!

↑ This is my homemade "Today's Mission Sheet"
that helps increase the things they can "do by themselves" as an extension of play!

When you have some free time,
please feel free to take a look 😊