The importance of a few vital skills . . .

We Need Your Help

A few of the most important and valuable developmental/life skills we aim to teach your young children are self-help skills and problem solving skills.  Acquiring a sense of independence, self accomplishment, and the ability to think through various situations and life-processes are all vital building blocks that will assist in their academic learning and overall success in later years.  

To those of you who transport your children to school, I’d like to ask that you allow your child to act as independently as possible once they come through our school doors (this is a great skill to encourage in your home environment as well).  Please allow and encourage your child to walk (rather than carrying him/her) through the halls, remove and hang his/her own coat and backpack, and then proceed to the bathroom to use the toilet (if needed) and wash hands.  

As a school staff, we encourage the children to manipulate their own zippers and buttons on their coats and to independently hang them on a hook.  We do the same when it comes to using the restroom; encouraging them to complete the process independently.   There are a number of children who request help in wiping after toileting.  Please know that as teachers, we do not wipe a child who has capable toileting skills, as this is inappropriate (we request that you encourage independent wiping skills within your home environment).  We also encourage children to obtain their own soap, rub all areas of their hands well, rinse, and then obtain their own paper-towel to dry with and throw in the trash.

Some of our children do require various physical, verbal and/or gestural prompts in order to complete some of these processes.  The need for initial prompts when acquiring any new skill is a natural/necessary part of the learning process.  However, we do our best to “fade” such prompting quickly, so that children become independent within their routine.  If a child truly does need assistance for one reason or another, we do require that they ask for assistance, based on their current level of ability (rather than crying, whining, or throwing a tantrum to get their needs met).   As based on current levels of development, the request for assistance can range anywhere from making simple eye contact (for our lowest functioning kids), signing the word help (non-verbal children), saying the word “help,” or speaking a full sentence, such as “Please help me with my coat.”  

Assisting a child who is learning independence and self-help skills does require additional time investment and patience on the part of the adult.  However, once children acquire such skills, it saves adults tremendous time and patience down the road. 

If you would like suggestions on how to help your child become more independent within your home, please do not hesitate to call, e-mail, or come in and visit with me.  

Melody Bainbridge

EC SpEd Teacher

435-781-3125 ext. 2825