Tuesday, February 24, 2015

The importance of giving a child responsibility

I remember the guy I worked with who I feel most sorry for.  It is not the lowest functioning person, it was one who was capable of a lot of things.  The reason I felt so sorry for this guy is that he didn't know anything of responsibility.  At the age of 26 he lived with his mother, didn't cook for himself, always looked to just go play (saying he wanted the summer to just have fun), and I don't know if he did ANY chores around the house.

The job of a parent isn't to be a friend to a child, it is to help teach a child how to be able to take care of themselves to the best of their ability.  Having aspergers or another disability is not an excuse of why a child can't do things that they are capable of doing.  Look for what things your child can do on their level, and give them responsibility.  Giving isn't always the right way to express love to a child (do you want to give a baby a steak).  I can't give every parent advice on what to do, you have to look at the situations and try to understand the best way in many cases to the best of your abilities.

2 comments:

  1. I really like that you said "Having aspergers or another disability is not an excuse of why a child can't do things that they are capable of doing. Look for what things your child can do on their level, and give them responsibility." It is sooooo important to promote independence!!!! That is the ultimate goal, isn't it?

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  2. I totally agree on that! We should all have/give everyone the chance of experience things, experience oneselves, life! Giving the opportunity of being autonomous, of overcoming incapacities, making difficulties becoming great deeds. I found yesterday that a student of mine, a 18 year person, doesn't know how to fill a balloon. I thought- God, what a chance of giving him the opportunity to have this experince; it's not just the possible thrill of doing it, but the enhancing of breathing abilitiy, whistling, smiling and other things that will surely come with it. He took his balloon home for practice- I put the top of a water bottle on the balloon so that it would be easier for him to blow into it.
    Making life better for everyone!

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