Give your child opportunities to make responsible decisions

Allowing your child to make decisions and take risks is a necessary step in building his responsibility. Help your child assume more responsibility by:

• Reasoning. Ask him how he would feel in your place. Have him give you a situation in which you need to think about how he feels. This teaches him to stop and consider before acting.
• Including your child in decisions. If he asks for a new privilege, expect him to display five responsible behaviors for a month. If he follows through, reconsider his request.
• Shifting the focus. Have him ask, “Is this the right thing to do?’ rather than, “Will I get in trouble?”

Reprinted with permission from the November 2005 issue of Parents Still make the difference!® (Middle School Edition) newsletter. Copyright © 2005 The Parent Institute®, a division of NIS, Inc. Source: Virginia K. Molgaard, “Teaching Responsibility to Preteens, Teens,” Iowa State University Extension, www.extension.iastate.edu/publications/PM1547G.pdf.