5 Things We Mistakenly Think Our Kids Can Do (That They Can’t)

How many of these have you mistakenly believed?

Things you think your kids can do that they can’t

Have complete control over their emotions

Children are still learning how to manage their emotions. They are not able to stifle every tear, stuff down every angry feeling, or cover their mouth before every scream. They are little, they are learning, and they will have tantrums and meltdowns. If you expect your kids to behave like little prim children all day long, each day will make you feel like a failure.

Sort out their own routine and habits

It’s a common refrain that babies or children will find their own flow, just let them. If you have one child and only need 4 hours of sleep a night, this might work for you. Otherwise, this is unwise. It’s a parent’s job to find a routine that works well for your children that includes all the necessary elements of survival (sleeping, eating, and cuddling). You might have 3 children choosing 3 separate bedtimes and mealtimes and the result will be utter chaos.

Decide what’s best for them

Children, quite simply, do not know what’s best for them. They know what they want and what they’d like to do. But, because they are still developing and maturing, they are not yet able to think about long-term consequences. Brownies 3 times a day. No chores ever. 5 hours of TV at a time. Hoarding All the Toys, no sharing. Giving your children too much freedom to make choices they are not capable of making backfires with consequences both short and long term.

Read your mind

Children don’t intuitively know you can’t color with crayons on the floor. They don’t know slamming a door is dangerous. They can’t quite see why playing outside naked in 40-degree weather might be a bad idea. We have to be very communicative with our kids all the time about everything until we feel like we’re going to die from talking. This is how they learn, process information, and connect the dots across areas of life. We don’t expect them to “just know,” we talk about it.

Move quickly

Now, they will move quickly when they are running from you or playing duck duck goose. But if you need them to put on their clothes, shoes, jacket, then get in the car because you’re running late… they will not be fast. They will be excruciatingly slow. That’s because the concept of time isn’t fully developed in them yet. We can teach them to hurry, but we need to realize it is our own time management that is at work here.

Curious what you think your kids can't do that they can? Check out the rest of this article on A Mother Far From Home. When you're finished, don't forget to add to the list.