Self Help Skills

What are self help skills? Are they important? How can we help develop them? Self help skills are things that children do for the, selves. Getting dressed, feeding themselves, toileting, etc. Yes they are important, they help develop fine motor skills, social skills, even gross motor skills. They help develop self confidence and a willingness to try. So how do we help them develop?

Well when it comes to self help skills, it will definitely require patience, and lots of practice and plenty of praise. Start with small goals. For example, dont expect your chold to be able to zip, button or snap on their first try. Start with just being able to get pants and shirt on. Move to buttoning and zipping gradually. Feeding, wow, well that requires patience, it will be messy, and take time. Messes can be made easier to be cleaned up by putting newspaper under the chair. This way the mess can just be rolled up. Start with feeding, then move to serving themselves. You can put things in smaller bowls that are easier to manage for little hands.

Praising your child for their success. Have them help clean up with you. Tell them how well they did. This will help develop their independence, they will learn to take turns and even help others who may need it. They will develop fine motor skills that can help with writing. Social skills by taking turns passing things to yheir friends. We use family style during lunch. Children learn to wait, take turns and help those who need it. They learn to clean up after themselves, and others.