6 great benefits when parents respect their children's right to choose
Choice can be as simple as letting your child choose between an apple or a banana for lunch or choosing what to wear to school. Give your child the power to choose and reduce the impact of your habits on them for the benefits Motherly points out below:
As a parent with a busy schedule, it’s easy to develop routines, make decisions, and then impose those decisions on your child. You want the best for your child and believe that your choices are the best. However, your actions are directly depriving your child of choice – a right and skill that is vital to their development and future success.
1. Avoid anger
Anger often stems from a lack of control or unfairness. It is a natural human response. As an adult, you often fail to realize that children have the right to make decisions and control things.
For example, if your child wants to cut their sandwich into squares, you decide to cut it into triangles. This makes them feel powerless and upset. So why not let them make the choice?
2. Strengthen confidence
Making decisions for yourself is an important part of building confidence. When your child makes a decision and it goes well, they feel proud and this will help to build their confidence, which will motivate them to continue improving their choice and decision-making skills throughout their childhood and into adulthood.
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Parents should let their children choose from small things. Photo:A Nutritious Dish |
3. Cultivate a sense of value
One of the most important and often overlooked aspects of parenting is making them feel valued.
Children are often more creative and perceptive than adults. Their choices are just as valuable as yours and you need to make sure your children know you recognize their value in your family. Start by letting them make choices in even the smallest things.
4. Teach children to be responsible
Life is a series of choices and decisions. So why not prepare your child for these skills from a young age? By offering them choices every day, you are teaching them to be an active part of the decision-making process and allowing them to learn to manage both the decision and the outcome, whether the outcome is desirable or not.
5. Promote creativity
Adults are often rigid and not as creative as children. Yet many parents prefer to impose all decisions on their children. This means not allowing them the opportunity to use their creativity and develop abstract thinking.
Experts recommend letting your child make choices to foster their abstract thinking and creativity rather than drowning them out with your power and authority.
6. Develop problem solving skills
Not all decisions your child makes will have good outcomes, and when a decision comes with unwanted reactions, your child will learn how to problem solve, which will give them the basis to make better decisions next time.
For example, if your child decides to take their favorite school shoes to a muddy park and accidentally ruins them, they will remember to make a more sensible decision next time.
Remember, as a parent, your job is to help your child become empathetic, strong, and responsible adults in the future. The best way to do that is to provide the space they need to be creative, develop confidence, and feel in control of themselves while they are young.