My eldest daughter and hubby are wonderful, hard working parents with two little ones. My grandson (3 in August) is testing boundaries as they do. One thing I've noticed is the way they both ask rather than state/tell. "Shall we go to the shops?" "Shall we go to the park?" Giving such young children big choices is wrong and stressful. Mostly there is no actual choice anyway i.e. they have to go to the shop or mum/dad decided a trip the park is what the family needs then they have to cajole or force the child to go/do something after giving the impression there was a choice. Which there wasn't/shouldn't have been. Stressful for them when he gets upset. Confusing for him. Frustrating to observe. We talked about it and I don't think they were even aware they were doing it but lots of parents seem to. WHY? When did parents stop taking responsibility for daily decisions?
Being in charge of family decisions is hard enough for adults - why are they delegating it to babies?
One of the joys of early childhood is freedom. "Get your shoes on we are going for a walk". He may still not like it but at least he wont feel conned and confused. And 99 times out of 100 he will love it.
Good Morning Good Friday 29th March 2024