This month's guest editor is Barb Smith.
Area Guidance Counselor, Richland County Vo-Tech
Serving Hankinson, Wyndmere & Mantador
 

Do you ever wonder why kids make the decisions they do? What can you do as a parent to help them make good choices? Here are some ways to help raise good decision makers.

Top 10 Ways to Raise Good Decision Makers

1. Look for opportunities to offer choices, even though it will often seem easier or more expedient to simply issue a command.

2. Let your child decide how they're going to solve a problem, even though it will often be easier to simply tell them what to do.

3. Ask your child for their input about food, such as which juice or dessert or snack they want.

4. Give them a TV "allowance" of a certain number of hours per week. Allow them to determine how they'll "spend" the number of hours they have.

5. Let them determine how they want to arrange or decorate their room (or some space of their own).

6. Let them decide which of two things they want to do first, or select two out of three chores that needs to be done.

7. Allow them to offer  concrete evidence to show that they are ready to handle a new privilege or responsibility.

8. Allow them to be in charge of managing certain aspects of their life -- to decide, for example, how they plan to keep track of their favorite toys, or remember everything they'll need for school the next day.

9. When they have a problem, help them identify possible strategies or solutions and explore what might happen if they make certain choices.

10. Give them space to make poor (but not life-threatening) decisions. Sometimes the best way to learn good decision-making skills is to make bad decisions.

Source: The Parents Little Book of Lists by Jane Bluestein, Ph.D.

CHILDREN NEED MODELS MORE THAN THEY NEED CRITICS.

Resources:    www.parentcenter.com, www.goodcharacter.com

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