TEACHING DECISION MAKING FOR KIDS | PARENTING GUIDE

Teaching decision making for kids can be a life saver because apparently the cliché “Follow your heart” hasn’t ended up well with great many.

Starting from the simplest decisions like what to wear or what to eat, navigating towards which career path to pick or which investment to make etc, decisions can vary from simple to complex while some decisions can change your life forever in a good way or in a bad way.

Taking decisions can be one of the hardest things in life especially for adults. Gosh wish someone had told me about it earlier and trained me accordingly.

Because every step you take can change the rest of your life.

That is exactly why we should be teaching our kids this amazing skill, so that they will be independent, self-sufficient and successful in life with the right decisions they have taken at the right moments in their lives.

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How Do We Teach Decision Making For Kids?

Setting a good example – model healthy decision making for your kids
As parents, we have the responsibility to demonstrate and lead by example.

We need to be mindful of our own decision-making so that our children can observe and learn from the positive habits we practice.

Sudden, impulsive decisions are rarely going to end well and this is something you need to emphasise in every way possible with your young kids.

We can do this by talking through the decisions you make in everyday life. When you decide where to go on vacation, what to cook for dinner or how to save money for a holiday talk about how you do it, why you do it and positives and negatives of every aspect.

Ex: If we go to Marysville next month, the hotels will be so expensive. But I don’t think we should wait until the cost goes down. Going off-season has its own drawbacks you know. We won’t be able to enjoy it as much.

By allowing our kids to see us work towards building healthy relationships with ourselves, they can learn how to make sound decisions based on respect, trust, and empathy.

It’s important that we communicate openly with them as well; letting them know why a certain decision is being made and encouraging dialogue throughout the process. If this foundation is set at a young age, it will serve them for a lifetime.

Strategies To Teach Decision Making For Kids

Exploring options - weigh pros/cons

When making decisions, brainstorming ideas is the first step. This can be a fun process, as kids get creative and come up with wild solutions that you’d never have considered.

Help them identify the decisions to be made and think of options. Help them evaluate the actions.

You can help your child weigh the pros and cons of each plan, and make sure that your family values are part of their decision-making criteria.

The brainstorming process isn’t just limited to major life choices like college or career; it can start with seemingly small decisions like choosing a pet or picking a school club – decisions that shape their future perspectives.

Trust yourself and trust your kids when exploring all the options out there.

Encouraging Independence

Allow your children to make small decisions on their own.

Decision making is an important milestone in a child’s life. Independence begins with small decisions that allow children to test their boundaries and develop confidence.

Start off by giving your children simple choices, such as what they want to wear or eat.

Encourage them to make these decisions themselves, no matter how small they may seem.

This gives your children an opportunity to take charge of their own lives and make decisions based on their own judgement, which will help them learn new skills and ultimately be more independent

Understanding the consequences

Talk to your kids about how different decisions can have long-term effects
Talking to your kids about decision making is an essential parenting skill.

Helping children understand the concept of cause and effect will lay a strong foundation for them to develop better decision-making skills, one that can protect them from potential pitfalls in the future.

As your child grows up and learns more about the world, it’s important to guide them by explaining how different decisions can have long lasting consequences—both positive and negative.

Talk to them regularly, listen to their thoughts, and together you can create strategies that are right for them as they learn new things and continue making good decisions throughout their lives.

Model planning skills

Being able to think ahead and plan helps with problem-solving and decision-making.

This ability begins in infancy and develops over the first few years. You can model planning, talking aloud as you plan, and giving children chances to practise planning in ways they can manage.

Play games and tell stories

Toddlers love ‘peek-a-boo’, ‘hide and seek’, and games where they can copy each other’s actions. These games help children build thinking and planning skills.

Basically, any play based activity involves some kind of decision making. Children have to decide which book to read, which game to play, so giving them structured and unstructured playtime can help them a lot.

Preschool children like to play games like ‘Simon says’ and ‘Freeze dance’, which require them to use self-control and think before they act.

Tips To Make The Process Successful

practise decision-making from as young as possible

They will make mistakes and learn from their mistakes. Mistakes can be a valuable learning opportunity for them.

For example your child doesn’t want to wear boots when playing outside on a rainy day. They will soon understand how wet and soggy sneakers can get on rainy days and how uncomfortable they are.

So you don’t have to interfere with every bad decision taken by them unless of course it seriously affects their safety and wellbeing.

Teach problem-solving skills

Encouraging children to understand and evaluate different solutions to a problem can improve our problem-solving skills immensely.

Children can be asked to decide on their birthday party theme, decide on food choices for the party and then we can discuss with them the pros and cons of them.

But final decisions need to be taken by them. It can be a hard pill to swallow at times but trust me in the long run the practise and confidence they have in making decisions will make you a proud parent.

Foster independence

Allow children to make decisions for themselves, within reason, and encourage them to take responsibility for their choices.

If they don’t wake up early for school and get late, drop them off whatever time they are ready without letting them stay home that day.

When they face consequences for being late, they will make an attempt to do things differently from next day.

Do not feel guilty for letting them face consequences like missing out on a swimming session, getting late for school etc. Consider them as good learning opportunities for them.

Provide information

Provide children with accurate and age-appropriate information to help them make informed decisions.

This is a must. As parents, we need to make sure our children know what their decisions may lead to.

If they don’t study well, you can remind them that they won’t get good grades. If they don’t eat healthy food, they won’t have the energy to do everyday tasks and might get sick too.

As they get older, we can talk with them about the importance of joining clubs, peer pressure, school rules, social etiquette which will help them make better decisions in life.

Celebrating success

Acknowledge and reward good decision making with praise or small rewards.

It’s important to celebrate success and reward decision making when it comes to your kids, especially in these uncertain times. Every day they make decisions that will shape their future, so why not encourage positive ones?

Whether it’s praise or the occasional small reward, celebrating successes can provide an extra boost to let them know you’re proud of the choices they make. And who knows – it could be the spark that leads to bigger and better things down the line

Conclusion

Taking responsible decisions is a skill that can be practised and improved from a very young age. Our kids need a lot of guidance to be able to browse through the various options available and make the best decisions in everyday life.

Our aim here is to teach responsible decision making for kids because this amazing skill is going to benefit them throughout their lives.

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