When you teach your child good decision-making skills at the early and right age, you are setting them up for success in life. With this acquired skill, the shift from childhood to adulthood is easily understandable and made a bit easier.
The importance of teaching decision-making is shown when children learn valuable life lessons through their choices. They are able to logically think and also acquire problem-solving skills that are vital for when they grow older.
Why is decision-making in children important?
In the view of adults, if we don’t think twice and contemplate beforehand, there’s a higher chance that we will make bad decisions. This is the general concept of decision-making with adults.
Thankfully, decisions made by children are not life-changing. But, it is important for guardians to know that letting your children pick between apple juice or mango juice, what color of socks to wear for school, or what books read teaches children that they have control in their life. (A little control, that is.)
Once children understand that they have choices to make, what comes next is learning to weigh their options and the consequences it brings before ultimately making the decision.
Which leads them to the next important step of decision-making in children.
It is knowing that decisions and actions have consequences and they have to accept and live with it. This teaches children to become responsible for their choices and also curbs impulsive behavior in younger ones.
Tips to Help Decision-Making in Children
Children are simple human beings. Some of them, especially younger ones, have yet to develop the concept of right or wrong and consequences. Teaching them decision-making skills will be challenging as parents and guardians.
However, this doesn’t mean it’s impossible. With the correct techniques, surely and slowly, your child will learn the concept of decision-making.
Here are some tips to help decision-making in children.
Be an example
While it’s true that the best lessons in life need to be experienced and not taught, parents can still humbly tell stories of their own life experiences and narrate to their children situations and possible consequences of each.
Allow children to make mistakes
It’s common parental instincts to shield our children from setbacks. But it’s also important that they learn from their own mistakes. You can talk to them after and giving them valuable wisdom from it.
Teach your child to know themselves
One of the greatest life skill one can acquire is knowing themselves and this includes being able to distinguish one’s strength and weaknesses. And when children are able to identify these, they are more likely to make better decisions in life.
Before getting to know themselves, children should be given opportunities to determine their weaknesses and strengths. And that’s where they’ll learn that they will not excel in all of these and that learning to accept defeat is a fundamental part of life.
Talk to your child
We may not know it, especially if your child has reached the age where there are certain things they are afraid or hesitant to share, but they might be going through rough roads or is having a hard time making decisions.
The best approach to this is to talk to your child, communicate with them. It can always start as a simple how are you and how’s your day, eventually, your talk will lead to them sharing vital details that might need your guidance.
Show them the ‘real world’
The best teacher is experience and no matter how much we want to shield our children from the cold, harsh world, at some point we need to show them that not everything is as easy and happy as they seem.
One prime example of this is when you caught your underage middle schooler smoking or engaging in prohibited acts. Yes, you can ground them, as you should, but accompany this order with real-life situations as to why smoking is bad.
Go to the Internet and print out a picture showing the difference between non-smoking and smoking lungs. Give out facts, consequences, and health conditions. This will embed in their brain more rather than your verbal lash.
