At Love and Logic, we believe that the most powerful way of learning to make good decisions is by being allowed to make some small mistakes, experiencing the related consequences, and seeing that the adults around you love you even when you mess up.

Far too many parents rob their kids of such opportunities by making sure that their kids never make mistakes, bailing their children out of the consequences of their mistakes, or creating resentment by showing anger or rejection. Listed below is a process for avoiding these common mistakes:

• Give your children plenty of opportunities to make decisions over small issues. Examples include giving your child a small allowance, allowing them to “choose” whether they remember to bring their lunch to school, or letting them decide whether they want to wear their coat or carry it.

 

• Hope they make a poor decision. Children learn to make good choices by making poor ones and experiencing the consequences.

 

• Let empathy and logical consequences do the teaching. Empathy is the key! By being sad for our kids rather than being angry at them, they are allowed to focus on their poor choice rather than our anger.

 

• Give them the same decision-making tasks again. This communicates a strong message: “We believe that you’ve got what it takes to learn from your poor decisions.”

 

Source: https://www.loveandlogic.com/articles-advice/quick-parenting-tips

Photo Credit: https://chaimommas.com/simple-ways-to-teach-children-responsibility/