Why Decision making skills are important for kids

Decision Making Skills: The Future Essential

Decision-Making skills are one of the highly sought-after skills since time immemorial. The ability to make decisions reflects the clarity of mind of an individual and also the knowledge they have about their domain. 

Decision-making is essential because it dictates the path an individual chooses, be it career, project or even life. 

As parents, we tend to make decisions on behalf of our children because we like to think we know what is best for them. As parents, it"s completely justified to have that mindset as we want to keep our children out of harm"s way and give them the best. However, at some point in time, we must allow the children to decide for themselves and take decisions when needed. 

Decision Making is not just settling on a choice. It is a process to identify the necessary action to be taken at the opportune moment when any situation demands so and how it can be achieved keeping in mind the reflections and consequences of the actions taken. 

When the decision-making skills and analytical prowess of an individual are honed, they will know whether they are acting out of an impulse or if they are taking a calculated decision for a better outcome and result in the future. 

Here are some of the reasons why decision-making skills are important and should be inculcated in children. 

Empowers and builds confidence:

When children get the free hand to make decisions, they get a boost of confidence, which will encourage them to make decisions in the future. When parents allow their children to make decisions empowers them as a sense of trust dawns on them which is a key to strengthening the bond. 

Aid futuristic thinking: 

Decision-making skills help children to think ahead. It is given that logical reasoning and critical analysis are the essentials of decision-making ability, thus this will help them analyse situations and come up with various outcomes and solutions for a particular problem, thereby helping them to think ahead. 

Helps them learn through consequences:

Experience is a great teacher and mistakes are the best lessons. When a child makes a mistake, encourage them to learn from it. Constructive feedback goes a long way and will motivate them to perform better at any given task in future. 

Long-term impact:

Decision-making is a crucial skill. The sooner the children learn this skill, the better. As they get older, they will have better analytical prowess and can make better decisions when they face various challenges in the real world. 

Allowing the children to make decisions for themselves and honing their decision-making skills can be beneficial in the long run. When children make good decisions, they get a great confidence boost because they chose it. Even if your child makes a bad decision, that too is beneficial as they will learn to make better decisions in future. 

Here are some simple tips on how parents help their children in developing decision-making techniques. 

Let them make mistakes: 

Often children are discouraged or teased when they make a mistake but there is a lesson in the mistake as well. Allow them to make mistakes and offer them constructive feedback on what they could have done or how they can do better. This will encourage them to think outside the box and approach a situation differently next time. Also, do appreciate them for the efforts they take even if they make a mistake. 

Make them aware of the real world: 

The real world is not at all fair and all of us learnt it the hard way at some point in time. Fore warns them about the consequences of making a bad decision. A healthy dose of reality will humble them and will help them learn a lesson from it to make better decisions in future. 

Understand the child"s potential:

Every child is unique and has a different perception. As parents, we have to understand our children completely. Observe their activities and learn about their interests, this will allow you to guide them based on their capabilities. 

Help them understand themselves:

Teach your children to understand their strengths and capabilities. When they understand themselves, they will be confident about taking decisions without relying on anyone. Give them plenty of room to explore their potential and do also make them aware of their limitations, learning to accept defeat and setbacks will aid their decision-making skills.