The Negative Impact of Pampering Children

Pampering is doing a task for your child when they are capable of doing it for themselves and without assistance. Since children possess an innate desire to do things for themselves, pampering children does more harm than good in the long run by creating weakness or reliance on others. Children develop the belief that others should do everything for them. One of the greatest gifts you can give your children is to allow them to develop the belief, "I am capable." Children feel capable when they learn that they can survive the ups and downs of life. 

Children are born with an innate desire to do things for themselves and begin to express that desire around the age of two. Unfortunately, when a toddler emphatically says, ‘Me do it!’  many parents rejoin, ‘No, go play! You’re too little to do that by yourself!’ Now, fast forward years later…ask the child to help complete a chore or task and hear, ‘No, I’m playing!’

Montessori Preschool Teachers Focus on Building Self-Confidence in Children by DIY

Six generations of Montessori preschool teaching have focused on building children from the ground up via a methodology called ‘the whole child.’

Creating a whole child means installing a routine allowing each child to:
Solve problems by learning how to strategize multiple ways to solve challenges rather than learning facts by rote
Work at his or her own pace
Work individually with a teacher rather than in a group of 24 students at once
Follow areas of personal interest and,
Work with younger and older students in collaborative groups like spokes in a wheel.

In other words, a whole child is a child who is given the ability to follow their own path towards reading, deduction, and thinking as foundations towards building a lifelong love of learning, self-confidence, and self-sufficiency.

How to Build a Positive Impact

Although ‘doing for a child’ is a cultural norm in some countries, it may create a schism. When routines differ between home and school, conflicts arise. 
Children want to help. 
They want to do it! 
They want to do it without your interference! 
And they want to tell you what they did, building positive interaction in the balance.

The Montessori Difference: Do It Yourself (DIY)!

Montessori preschool is designed for children in every way. When you enter a classroom, you are immediately struck by the size of its rooms; easily attainable materials; minimalist architectural shapes and how its beauty as an accessible learning environment powers your child’s development and growth. 

It is this Montessori Methodology that builds each child’s path towards understanding oneself followed by each child’s understanding of their own place in their world. Since it’s their life, it’s their journey and it’s their responsibility to personally navigate that path the way they want.

Summary 

Create a positive impact in your home. Refrain from pampering children. Instead, let your child do it for themselves so they can show you how “I did it all by myself!” Granting each child’s independence from overly helpful but unnecessary pampering will focus your child’s reliance only upon themself. So much, perhaps, that they will wonder how mommy and daddy ever did anything without their help!