You know the moment when, standing in the middle of the store, the child starts demanding that he buy that sweet candy, although you have already agreed on a poppy seed bun? And so, in general, an exemplary kid starts to vote for the whole supermarket due to the fact that he does not want to part with the bun, and does not want to leave without sweets. What to do in this case? First of all – stop the tantrum! And so that it does not happen again, teach the child to make a choice.
This painful selection process
The whole life of both an adult and a small person is an endless choice. The choice of friends, loved ones, places of study and work, finally, even having come to the store, we choose certain products. But there is a category of people for whom the selection process is painful and long! They hang in the dairy department for an hour just because they do not know what fat content to choose yogurt.
But there are those for whom the choice is a momentary desire, which is rarely justified. Yes, that’s why many (and I am not an exception) dozens of unnecessary dresses hang in the wardrobe. Therefore, it was important for me not only to teach the child to poke a finger at the first thing that came to hand, but also to think through the consequences of his choice. After all, the choice is a responsibility.
We are going to the shop!
The easiest option to learn how to make a choice is to go to a regular store.
My eldest daughter was with me in the store quite often. When she was about three years old, she was especially pleased to bring food to my cart. At the same time, I always explained why we take a certain product, for example, we will prepare cheesecakes, and for this we need low-fat cottage cheese. That is, by example, she taught to think about purchases deliberately.
The youngest daughter was recently presented with a cashier, in which even toy money appeared! But the amount of this money is limited. That is why buying the entire store will not work! And the daughter makes her first choice: buy a pencil or a coloring book.
At 5 years old, I began to allow my daughter to choose their own snacks. That is, I gave her a small amount of money and we went to the store. She felt grown up, wandering between the counters and choosing what she could spend her money on.
4. The ability to make their own decisions.
I repent, the clothes I most often choose myself. But before the start of the school season, we choose stationery together. And here the children can choose pencils and notebooks. And if the youngest daughter grabs everything in the bright packaging, then the older one is already based on experience: We bought such pencils, they write poorly, let’s take others!
5. Do not scold for the wrong choice.
I manage to buy something unnecessary at the age of 30, so I don’t require 100% hit from my children.
6. But the most important point: do not wait for the child to understand everything at once.
Result
The fact that my daughter learned to make a choice, I was convinced by a simple example. Once, when she was 4, she refused to go to kindergarten. In order to somehow convince her, I decided to bribe. We came to the store with children’s toys and steel near the counter. I offered to choose any toy that she would like, but in return she should go to the garden …
My daughter finally decided and proudly walked to the checkout. That’s great! Tomorrow you will go to the garden with this doll! – I summarized. My daughter looked at the doll, then at me, thought a little and … put her back on the shelf. We left the store with nothing, but the daughter was extremely proud of herself: she made the first difficult choice in her life!