Making Decisions
Every day, we are faced with all sorts of decisions. Sometimes the decisions are small, like what to wear or what to eat. And sometimes the decisions are bigger, like where to live or where to send your children to school.
Decision making is not something that children get to practice all that frequently. It’s good to allow your children the time to practice making small decisions now. They’ll learn how it’s done and have more practice going through the decision making process. As they get older, the decisions they make have bigger consequences and you want them to have the skills in place to make good decisions. Below are some ideas for helping them playfully practice making decisions.
Inside: a list of social skills, both external (interacting with others) and internal (your inner thoughts & feelings) with playful ways to practice them.
Recently I went to a symposium on play where Stuart Brown, author of Play: How it Shapes the Mind, Opens the Imagination and Invigorates the Soul, was speaking. I took off my mom yoga pants and put on real ones, drove to the symposium and sat down at a table. I pretended that I'm not an introvert and started talking to my neighbor. After I gave her my 30 second description of Encourage Play, she said “that sounds great but what does that really mean?”
Inside: A simple and fun game you can play with your kids to practice making decisions. You can play it at home, in restaurants, car rides or while waiting.
It’s Sunday and it’s my meal planning time for the week. I sit at the kitchen table, sip my coffee, and ask myself “what should we have for dinner this week?” Often, I ask my family for input, but let’s be honest, I get a lot of “pizza!” and “pasta!” answers from my children :-)
Inside: 10 fun and enjoyable social skills group activities designed to help kids learn through play. Perfect for social skills group centers or for groups at school.
What kid has ever wanted to attend a social skills group? I’ve never heard a kid say “Yes, please sign me up for a group where you point out how awkward I am and then make me talk about it.”
It’s a rainy fall afternoon. The children have a day off, and they’ve been busy creating, playing and arguing all morning. It’s the perfect day to put on a movie, get some popcorn (and warm coffee for the adults) and snuggle in bed.
“I want to watch this!” says my daughter, pointing to one of the titles displayed on the screen.
I love watching videos about the importance of play and how it affects children and adults. Play is so wonderful, and it’s how we learn. Check out my five favorite videos about play here.