The drive for independence starts from babyhood. Young babies rapidly make decisions about what they play with, what they like to eat and who they prefer to be with. Toddlers will thrive in a healthy environment where they have opportunities to do more and more for themselves.
Practitioners, however, recognise that children will only be sufficiently confident to start to deal with the world themselves if they come from a background of security, support and adult love. Two restrictions to a child's growing independence occur when they are overprotected or where they are pressured into achieving developmental milestones too early.
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