As a parent, I want to remember this–children learn to make good decisions by making decisions, not by following directions. I think it’s easy to get caught up in wanting our kids to be “good.” We want them to behave, especially in public. And we tend to reward them BIG for following our directions. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that following directions is a bad thing. But I do know that I also want my child to be able to make wise decisions. It’s important to ask ourselves if we are providing plenty of opportunities for our kids to practice good decision making. Because we know as adults how important decision making becomes. Our decisions impact us. They take us places and become our future.   

At times, it may seem as if it’s just easier to make the decisions for our kids. it would certainly take less time and energy . But when we do this over and over again, we miss countless chances for our children to grow in their decision making abilities. And I think we can start this at a younger age than perhaps you and I were given the opportunity to do. To begin with, it could be as simple as offering our kids choices at a very young age and walking them through the decision-making process for things that don’t have heavy consequences.

If you’re a parent, what are you doing to encourage your child to not just follow directions, but to also make good decisions? It’s never too late to take a step toward encouraging more decision making.