Making Decisions.
This is something that you and I do every day.
Your son is also making decisions every day:
Which toy to pick up, Which game to play, Which book to read, Which friend to invite over, Which school assignment to do first, Which girl to ask out on a date…
The above decisions are preparing him for the bigger decisions to come.
Having you in the background can feel like a safety net for him but that is not your job. Your job is to give him the tools he needs to make the right decisions.
Start with a sheet of paper or a computer screen and ask him to start listing the pros and the cons. Amazingly enough, when he sees it in print the decision will usually be clear. The pros will out number the cons, or vice versa. However, this may not be the decision he thought he wanted to make.
This is where parenting skills come into play. Encourage him to take time to review his work sheet on the pros and cons, to sleep on his decision and then, well, this is where you step back.
Making a bad decision early on will be a good learning experience for him. He can learn from his mistake.
Allow him to feel the success of making good decisions and the disappointment of making a bad decision.
Making a bad decision later in life can have some very severe consequences.
There you go. Another lesson for today. Now, go and love your son in your own special way. Some days are long but, trust me, the years will just disappear.
Love,
MarnaKay
Boys 