5 Parenting Hacks on How To Raise Independent Children

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Today, we’re bringing you five parenting hacks on how we foster a family environment that helps raise children who are more independent, and why autonomy is the end goal.

👉 Key Points

1. Allowing Children to Make Choices         

-        Dinner

-        Shower

-        Utensils

2. Let children struggle safely

-        For example, children climbing trees and ‘can’t get down’. We might say, ‘You’re too high for me to help you but I’ll stay here with you while we work it out. What can you do to get yourself down?

-        Being the emotional (not physical) support to help them troubleshoot their own problems

3. Release expectations

-        Appropriate levels of learning

-        Embracing the mess whilst they’re learning

4. Not micro-managing

-        Not too quick to give solutions

-        Let children do things for themselves as often as possible

5. Age appropriate tools

-        Kiddicutter: https://www.wildlingsforestschool.com/shop/kiddikutter

-        Peeler: https://www.wildlingsforestschool.com/shop/opinel-peeler-beech

-        Pocket knife: https://www.wildlingsforestschool.com/shop/my-first-opinel-whittling-knife

-        Cleaning toosl: Mini dust buster, dustpan and broom, cleaning cloths and vinegar spray within reach

-        Plastic steps/montessori stool

-        Mini First Aid Kit: Bandaids, tea tree oil, tweezers - clear expectations

👉 Guest Details

Vicci Oliver and Nicki Farrell are adventurous nature play makers, risk-takers, children’s rights advocates and the co-founders of Wildlings Forest School. We are the hosts of the ‘Raising Wildlings’ podcast and we put the dirt back in childhood.

Wildlings aims to get more children outdoors connecting with nature, creating the village parents are yearning for and inspiring change in the education system.

During any Wildlings Forest School program, you are likely to find Wildlings up trees, sliding down mud slides, whittling with pocket knives, lighting fires and building rafts. We let kids, be kids - because children can’t learn to protect nature if they’ve never had a childhood in it.

👉 Wildlings Forest School Contact Details

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👉 Freebie:
And if you’d like a little help changing the language you use in your family to help de-escalate conflict, click here  to get our FREE Words of Empathy and Validation printable to stick on your fridge for those rough moments.

Welcome back to Raising Wildlings — where we explore raising brave, resilient, curious kids who feel at home outdoors.

If you're an educator ready to bring more nature play and child-led learning into your Early Years program, our Bush Kindy Professional Development Workshops are for you. You'll walk away with practical tools, risk-benefit strategies, and the confidence to take learning outside in a way that's safe, meaningful, and genuinely exciting for

You know this podcast is just a small part of what we do at Wildlings Forest School. So if you want to find out more about our range of programs for children, our professional development workshops for educators, our free downloadables, blogs or our online store, just head to wildlingsforestschool.com. It's all there waiting for you. Come and join the village.