Second Grade: Choices of Children

So Much To Do

Excluding time spent eating and sleeping, your child has roughly 80 hours a week in which to do things. Subtract another 50 hours for school, homework and chores and this leaves your child only 30 hours a week for everything else.

As you can see, even your child's time is limited. This means you need to help your child choose which activities are most important. Exploring choices means parents can help their child in identifying, thinking over and evaluating each choice. This is different from giving advice or telling the child what to do.

Make a list of item for a day in your child's life, having slices correspond with time spent. Here is how the list might look:

• 10 hours sleep
• 7 hours school
• 1/2 hour bus riding
• 1/2 hour homework
• 1/2 hour chores
• 11/2 hour piano
• 1 1/2 hours meal time
• 3 1/2 hour free time

Consider: Music lessons,  Television, Church and church school, Sports Time for self, Play

Decision-making steps include:

1. Defining the situation or problem.
2. Searching for alternatives.
3. Exploring and thinking through a variety of solutions.
4. Setting a future time to check on the progress.

It is important for parents to sit down with their child and explain the steps and how to solve a problem or make a decision.

Attitudes are important during this exploration. Parent and child should listen to each other, accept each other's feelings, trust each other and want to resolve the problem. It will help to maintain good eye contact, show interest and encourage your child to explain his thoughts.

Exploring choices works because it motivates the child to carry out the solution and helps her develop critical thinking skills. In addition, it eliminates the need for either parent or child to show power.

If you fail to find a solution, take a break, then go back over the steps. But keep trying. If the process breaks down, search for a hidden problem. Ask, "What is keeping us from finding a solution?"

Exploring choices, resolving differences and making a decision together will help parents and children understand each other and feel good about themselves.