Good Decision Making

What is the one thing we all do the most every day is make decisions. This of course is not different for children. A toddler must decide on what to wear, what toys to play with, what to say or how to ask for something, etc. From the moment a child wakes up till going to sleep they are making a ton of choices to navigate. Teaching good decision-making skills is important so they grow to make good decisions as an adult. Not demanding or telling children what to do, rather giving them choices, really empowers the child. Like which book do you desire I read today to you? So, making choices over smaller things shows the partnership. Also, this enhances their leadership skills which is critical as they prepare for going to school. Obviously, you cannot let children make decisions regarding health or safety of themselves or others. Like not eating healthy food is not a choice, rather you can put something on it that makes it taste better or letting them use their fingers vs a fork. Every child grows a little differently in this area and educators or daycare workers need to teach age-appropriate decision-making skills. So, a toddler should be able to choose between two or three things. Like going outside to play, the child may want to choose which of the two sweaters to wear. Over time, the child will be able to pick out a warm outfit that is appropriate for the weather. Their reasoning skills are developing and so is their confidence in being able to make these decisions. Before long they are developing good choices on what to wear, what to pack to go to pre-school, what toys they enjoy sharing, what books they like to read, and the list goes on. We work with our children in our care to make good decisions just like their parents do at home. We know we are an extension of the home and take that responsibility seriously.