Encouraging your child to become an independent learner
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, there was considerable fear from parents that children will fall behind without the structure and routine that in-person school provides. However, virtual school showed us just how resilient and capable our children actually are! They overcame a whole new school setting, and learned to complete many tasks, chores and parts of their daily routine all on their own. During that time, many parents started to see how providing independence in learning might actually be a good thing. Independent learning is not a new concept — many psychologists and child specialists have long endorsed it! In fact, two of the most famous developmental psychologists of our time, Erik Erikson and Lev Vygotsky, both emphasized the importance of children’s independence for healthy development.