smartparent

One thing your children will need to be able to do all through their lives is to make good decisions.  This skill can be learned from trial and error, but why not give them a head start on it?  Children as young as two can make decisions.  Encourage them to do this by giving them choices:  Do you want milk or juice?  Apple juice or orange juice?  Red shirt or blue?  When they get a little older, you can present them with more complex decision-making exercises:  What do you want to drink?  Which shirt do you want to wear?

Never make a decision for your children that they can make for themselves.  Once they are old enough to dress themselves, for instance, they should choose their own outfits everyday.   Let them choose which sports they want to play, give them the opportunity to choose what your family will eat for dinner, and have them choose what gifts they will be giving others (within budgetary limits).  Making decisions instills confidence and gives children (and adults) a feeling of control over their lives.  Teenagers who feel in control of themselves are much less likely to rebel than those whose parents control their lives, so any time you spend when they’re younger waiting for them to make up their minds will be given back to you when you don’t have to argue with a rebellious teenager.

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