How to help your kids make good decisions
Pauline Li, MSSS Social Counselor
During the teenage years, your daughters have to make many decisions about school, their friends, and their future. The areas of the brain that control decision-making don’t fully develop until early adolescence, so teenagers occasionally behave in an impulsive, irrational or dangerous way. How can parents help your kids learn and apply good decision-making skills?
Connect and listen: Stay connected is essential so that your daughters know you are there for them if they need you.
Clarify the problem without blaming others.
Encourage them to stop and think and not judge positive or negative.
Encourage them to brainstorm as many different options as possible and write them down.
Encourage them to evaluate the options and choose one option. It’s important that the solution to the problem does not create harm to someone else.
Explain to your daughters that making a choice also brings responsibility.
Being supportive, even when they made mistakes.
Use mistakes as learning opportunities: Teenagers may make some wrong choices. Dealing with mistakes can teach your daughters many valuable life skills and they can learn about responsibility when they make a mistake.
Remind your daughter to ask for help.