Making Your Own Choices

Learning to make your own decisions, and trusting yourself to do so, is an important part of the teenage years. Right now, it may seem easiest to act the same way as your friends or to let you parents decide what is best for you. Although these people probably have your best interests in mind, the act of growing up is not always represented by just doing the right thing, but rather by making the right choices. For great tips and information visit www.youcanbereal.com

Parents
To ensure that your children become effective decision makers:
• Let them make their own decisions- decision making takes practice and letting your kids make small choices early in life will prepare them for the larger decisions they have to make later on.
• Allow teens to make mistakes and to learn from them- We learn best by doing, and by making mistakes, youth learn to take responsibility for their actions.
• Do not teach with rules, regulations or criticism-instead it is more important to educate youth in a way that will improve both their understanding and therefore their conduct.