Building Strong Kids: The importance of choice
Building Strong Kids: The importance of choice
Choice is a fundamental part of life. Empowering children to make wise choices has tremendous benefits. Children who are capable of making choices in their daily lives often have a better sense of self-efficacy and confidence, which, of course, leads to stronger, more confident adolescents. How to build choice opportunities for children:
Start Small- Offer small choices throughout the day. For example, let children choose between cereal or waffles for breakfast. Or let the child pick a part of their outfit- let them choose the color socks they wear or the shirt they wear. Note: Offer controlled choice limiting options- start with two options. Offering unlimited choice can be overwhelming, and can lead to anxiety and shut-down.
Offer specific praise to the child, praising the choice they made. "It looks like you made a good choice for breakfast this morning."
Articulate the choice to other adults in front of the child. "_______" chose his/her breakfast this morning. Whenver possible, articulate this praise in front of the child so that he/she can see that their autonomy is noticed by others and matters within the family unit.
If offering choice in any capacity is new to your family, start small, perhaps one or two choices a day.
In the next blog, we will explore how to scale up choices and how to get children to articulate their decision making process.
