Do you know how sewing bonds mother to her children?
Image by Gábor Adonyi from Pixabay
Sewing is wonderful hobby mothers do that can be imparted to their children. Sewing is one of the household activities that seem to be only attributed to mothers, but can actually be a good skill to teach children. Children are particularly inclined to this skill at a very young age. You may have witnessed your daughter trying to dress up her toy doll with makeshift fashion wear and accessories, drawing and cutting up paper dresses, or see your children trying out different clothes that look good on them or their pets. These are useful cues to discovering their creativity and leading them to the delightful art of sewing.
Sewing can be learned at any age
Sewing is a great way to develop the hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills of children at a young age. You don’t have to teach your children how to use the needle and the thread right away. Depending on their current age, you can let them learn age-appropriate basic sewing techniques. For starters, children ages 2 to 4 can be taught how to use lacing cards, how to put shoelaces on shoes or threading large beads. Kids ages 5 to 7 can learn basic stitches, embroidery or cross stitch. At ages 8 to 10, you can introduce the real sewing machine to them. There are also sewing machines for kids, specifically designed to be lightweight and smaller to fit the size and reach of the users. Children at these ages can learn small beginner projects and patterns for sewing. Children ages 11 up can then be introduced to garment construction and techniques. In all these stages, a mother’s presence is definitely needed, and her loving and guiding hands can do wonders in letting her children unlock the wonders of sewing.
Sewing imparts the virtue of patience
Teaching children how to sew can also teach them how to be patient. For children, and even for grownups, sewing can be frustrating and time-consuming. In teaching children to make their own sewing projects, they need to learn things step by step, and with as many repetitions as necessary. This said, mothers also need to have enough patience to guide them through all the steps to help boost the confidence of their children and teach them to patiently work on each step before going to the bigger task.
Sewing enhances attention and communication
Sewing is never a dull moment when done by mother and child concurrently. Mothers can talk about the time they first learned how to sew or how sewing was passed down from generation to generation. This is best done during breaks from sewing to avoid injuries. Giving instructions to your children on how to sew may take a hands-on approach in the first few days, immersing them in the basic terms and knowledge about sewing. Mothers can then gradually let their children to the sewing on their own. For sewing machine operation, it may take longer, depending on the child’s learning pace, and eventually they can also be left to operate on their own but still with supervision. Mothers can encourage their children to ask questions or assistance and should be within reach or sight to give assistance or instructions. Compliments and commendations for a job well done should be in place once the children finish their sewing tasks.
Sewing isn’t actually a complicated and time-consuming skill to learn for children. It can actually enhance the bonding moments of mothers to their children while also imparting them this valuable skill. Mothers just need a good eye for catching their children’s creative moments and gently leading them to apply it a useful life skill like sewing. Mothers also need to be patient in teaching sawing and teach their children to be also patient in learning the skill. Most importantly, good communication while learning to sew deepens the bond mothers can have with their children. So get those sewing kits ready and let the learning and bonding moments begin with your children.