Teaching good decision-making skills is a big parenting responsibility.
Helping children to learn and think about making good decisions is one of the most important skills your ministry can provide. The following may help you train your kids to make good decisions.
Training Tips:
• Teach by example
• Teach “How To Make Good Choices”
• Teach children to not make “knee-jerk” decisions
• Teach kids a decision-making process.
Tom Peters teaches to “Fail fast, learn fast, fix fast.” Kids (and parents) need to understand the situation/problem, consider other options, understand the consequences, make a decision, and review and learn from the outcome of their decision. Remember, kids learn from trial and error – failures can lead to better solutions.
If you disciple your kids by giving them the tools, tips, and training they need to make good decisions, they’ll use them as they grow in His grace and truth (Proverbs 22:6).
I truly believe that one of the most important things you can teach a child is how to make good decisions based on strong fundamental values. I am writing a series of interactive books to teach preschoolers how to make simple, yet important decisions based on values such as honesty, kindness, inner-strength (peer pressure), etc. So many parents wait until peers or outside media (tv, video games, social networks, Internet, etc) have more influence over their children than the parents do. The time to start teaching children about decision making is when they are 4-5 years – before it’s too late. Make it a continual, casual conversation so it becomes second-nature.