How to Teach Kids Decision Making

From the moment they are born, our children are our most prized possession. More than anything else we want to protect them from the dangers lurking in the world around them. In some ways we can shelter them by what we do and what we say and how we step in at key moments to defend them. But we all know that the beautiful bundle of joy that comes home with parents from the hospital will eventually be a teen dealing with teen aged problems and beyond our ability to totally protect. Common sense tells us that though we will always be there for our children, the time will come when they will need to make their own decisions. Teaching children good decision making skills at an early age can be the best protection we can ever provide.

1. Providing lots of practice . Parents often get into what they think is the helpful habit of making most of the decisions for their children. They decide what toys are safe, what books are best, what food is just right, what shows are acceptable. While some of this decision making is certainly necessary to keep children out of harms way, making decisions for your children can too easily become a habit. Some parents fall into this rut and begin to think that they mus do all the thinking and sometimes all the talking for their children. Knowing nothing different, some children will simply see this as the norm and step back and let their parents take over for them. These children will automatically look to their parents whenever a decision needs to be made, not trusting themselves. These same children will too often remain quiet when other adults speak to them, fearful that they will not choose the right answer or the right words and knowing that in a few seconds their parents will step in to answer for them anyway.