Empowering Kids With Choices

Giving your child the option of choice is a fundamentally sound approach to developing character and confidence. Parents who domineer take away all control, fostering self-conscious, helpless or wishy-washy demeanors. Conversely, parents who give children free reign over choice open the door for kids to become demanding, irresponsible and in control of the parent.

In the early stages, our kids need encouragement to perform and learn. Along the way, they will show an interest in things that earn them praise and attention. When this starts to occur,  the next logical step is to give them some responsibilities to reward their developing attitudes. Give them options for chores they can perform from cleaning their room to taking out the trash. Choice with rewards can stimulate a child to become more active, responsible and satisfied with accomplished goals.

The younger the child, the simpler the choices. There is only so much information toddlers to 10-year-olds can process. You can offer them food and drink choices, what clothing to wear, or types of games and activities they can do. Set limits on choices to insure desired results. Kids will want the moon if it’s on the list, so don’t leave it open-ended. If they want something to drink, tell them they can choose from milk, juice or water. Even better is to keep it to choices A and B. A child will still feel empowered, but could tire from this strategy if overused. Try to mix it up to avoid the monotony.


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