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3 Reasons Why This New Parenting Trend is Not Good for Kids
It’s fascinating to watch yo-yo parenting trends come and go, but not always so fascinating to see how they affect children.
Overhearing a young mom recently inspired me to consider and write something that might help us keep our balance.
She and a friend were talking, and I heard her say, “Well, we were late this morning, again, because Natalie couldn’t decide what to wear. I really want her to make her own decisions…” and I missed some of the remaining conversation. I did discover, however, that Natalie is 2.
So let’s talk for a minute…
I’m a huge proponent of moving kids toward independence and so I understand this rationale. My 4 year old loves to make his own sandwiches, and I let him, even though it’s messier.
But this new trend of insisting our youngest children make every decision can cause some major problems, and I’ve noticed that it can easily and quickly lead to a child-centered life, and these are the problems I see with that:
1. It’s overwhelming.
A two year old isn’t mentally equipped to make a hundred little decisions a day, outside of normal play-time decisions. Children need guidance and that includes having a parent take care of basic decision-making to free…
