Being a mother and a teacher has given me a great opportunity to see personally the potential that each child possesses. I get to watch my children as well as my students develop, learn, and navigate their surroundings.
One common challenge that came up with many of these children is that they are not able to make most of the decisions nowadays. Reasons?
Information Overload
As we are now living in the digital age, it has flooded children with an overwhelming amount of information from various sources, making it challenging to sift through and discern accurate, relevant information for decision-making. Even adults felt it so. Don’t you agree?
Peer Pressure and Social Media
With the increasing influence of social media and the added peer pressure, children may make judgements based on trends rather than their own morals and logical thinking.
Fear of Failure
Children in this digital era tend to be more sensitive and worry about making errors or receiving negative feedback or criticism from peers and adults. This fear of failure discouraged children from making independent decisions.
Time Constraints
Do you still remember those days when you were schooling? You get to play with friends after school?
Look at the children in the current times. Their schedules are packed from weekdays to weekends and extracurricular commitments can leave them with limited time and mental space to even engage in thoughtful decision-making.
Technology Dependence
With advancement in technology, children rely heavily on it to quickly get their answers. Thus, discourage them from seeking out and analysing information independently.
So, how can we guide and support our children in this modern era to make informed decisions?
As I reflect on the precious moments spent guiding my own children and the bright minds in my classroom, I am excited to start this shared journey with you. The lessons I’ve gathered from the challenges and triumphs of motherhood and teaching are invaluable, and I hope by sharing these practical insights will further support fellow parents and educators.
If you are keen on equipping your children with the tools they need to make thoughtful and informed decisions, please allow me to share with you my framework of COPE. Let’s go!
Tool #1: Create a Supportive Environment
Would you dare to make a decision or to bring your voice out when the environment is not supportive? Bet not.
The same goes for the children.
In order to encourage and nurture children to make informed decisions, it is important to create a supportive and nurturing environment. Parents should be approachable, understanding, and encourage open communication with their children. Let the children know that that their opinions and choices matter, even if they differ from your own.
Tool #2: Offer Guidance, Not Control
Many times, as parents, we tend to unconsciously control our children’s decisions thinking that it would be the best for them. Children will become reliant and become fearful of making their own decisions.
We need to be conscious of how we open up the communication with our children. Instead of control, present them with information and advice, allowing them the autonomy to weigh their options and make choices independently. This approach helps build their self-esteem and decision-making skills.
Tool #3: Promote Real-Life Experiences
With technology, we tend to show our children videos of examples. Is difficult for them to understand and having the right emotional feelings about it
Real-life experiences evoke emotions, challenges, and successes. These emotional connections enhance memory retention and create a more profound impact on children’s learning and development. Hence, it will always be a better option to provide opportunities for children to engage in real-life decision-making, if chance permits.
It can be as simple as decision making for family outings, managing personal finances (allowances), or planning their own time-table.
Tool #4: Emphasise Values and Ethics
With so much influence from social media, how can we guide our children to make informed decisions? One way is to instil strong values and ethical principles in children.
We do not want them to make decisions due to peer pressure or what they saw on social media. We want to encourage them to consider how their decisions align with their own values and it will affect other people.
In this way, it encourages kids to accept responsibility for their decisions and develops their confidence in speaking up even in difficult situations or when facing challenges.
Conclusion
That’s my COPE method on how I support and nurture my children and students into confident decision-makers and future leaders, the importance of empowering them with informed choices and strong values cannot be overstated.
These children will continue to put the skills they have learnt into practice as they accept the possibilities and challenges that lie ahead and will positively impact those around them and help create a brighter, more agreeable future for all of us if they do this.
Are you ready to empower children to make informed decisions or do you prefer to be in control?
Just want to let you know that the decisions we make have a surprising impact on our children.
