Disciplining with Choices

     I recently discovered an amazing book titled Between Parent and Child: New solutions to old problems, by Haim G. Ginott. When I found this book at the library I almost felt like I had to brush the dust off of this delicate book because it was so old! Literally, it smelt like an ancient book of wisdom! However, Ginott's information had me reading for chapters and I was hooked!

     Although the book was first published in 1965, Ginott's strategies and advice for disciplining children is genius! One of the suggestions Ginott gives parents is to NOT ask "yes or no" questions to children but to give them choices. For example he asks "Do you want to wear your blue pants or green ones?", instead of demanding them to wear what YOU say. A powerful quote that I wrote down in this specific chapter was "We do the selecting; they do the choosing" (Ginott, 1865).

    Sometimes giving children the power to choose can be a funny experience. For example, letting your child choose what to wear to school can be interesting. I saw a little girl at the store with snow boots, rainbow pants, and a tiara in the middle of July because her mom said that is what she chose to wear that day. 

What choices have you given your children that have spun into a funny event/story? Please leave your comments below. 

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Source: Ginott, H. (1965). Chapter 4: Responsibility and Independence. In Between Parent and Child: New solutions to old problems (1st ed., p. 90). New York City: The Macmillan Company.