Children start making decisions that will affect their lives as early as three years old.
While these decisions may not be life-altering ones, they are still making them. It is your responsibility as a parent to make sure that your child knows how to make the right decisions in life early on. There are a few ways that you can help them do this.Let Your Child Make Age Appropriate Decisions
When your child is young, you can start letting them make decisions for themselves, based on their age. For example, you can let them choose what they are going to have for a snack or what they are going to wear to school that day. When your child is very young, you should give them two options. This way, your child is making the decision, but they won't get too overwhelmed with all of the options available.
Give the Input in Family Decisions
While you cannot leave all of the family decisions up to your child, you can get their input. For example, if the family is going out to dinner, ask your child where they want to eat. Not only will they be forced to make a decision, they will also see that their voice matters in the home.
Let Your Child Make Mistakes
In life, we make decisions every day. Some decisions are the wrong ones and we need to learn to move on from that. Your child needs to learn the same concept. If your child is making a decision that you believe is the wrong one, you should let them make the decision, as long as it won't harm them in any way. For example, if your child chooses to wear a spring jacket outside when they need a winter jacket, let them make the mistake. They will learn that their decisions are not always right, but they will learn that they won't always make the right decision. This is a huge life lesson.
Practice What You Preach
If you are trying to get your child to make the right decisions, you should do the same. If you ask your child what they want for dinner, you hope they choose something healthy. When they do, it is a bad idea if they see you eating a gallon of ice cream while you are fixing dinner. If you want your child to make the right decisions, you should try to do the same.
Talk to Your Child
When your child makes a decision and you think it is the wrong one, encourage them to discuss their thought process with you. It will help you both figure out why that particular decision was made.
Though much has been said about the academic achievements of Montessori children, the main value of the educational method lies in the self-discipline, self-motivation, independence, and love of learning that the children achieve. To learn more about our Montessori Fremont schools, contact us to schedule a tour.
