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Preschoolers and Choices

jennifer · June 25, 2012 · 8 Comments

We all feel better when we have choices in life.
I find this particularly true with 3 year olds.
“Did I have breakfast?” Biz asked the other morning.
My husband assured him that he did. He also noted that strawberries and cream Biz insisted on having (and nothing else) were probably not enough.
He was right.
The options I gave to Biz: breakfast bar, cereal, apple, banana, pop tart.
Biz looked at me, smiled and asked if he could come up with his own options. I reluctantly agreed.
Biz’s options: pistachios (that I would have to shell for him), apple, Goldfish.
“How about the apple?” I asked.
“No. I really want the Goldfish,” he said smiling. He knew I wasn’t going to go for Goldfish so early in the morning.
We decided it was best to go with the breakfast bar.
At least he tried. Kind of like when he told daycare that the naps they made him take were too long. He was given the choice to stay up a little later with the older kids to get an extra book before nap time.
He declined. He was too tired.
Sometimes, it’s the mere concept of a choice that’s good enough.
 Photo Source: Dreamstime

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Life, Parenting Biz, choices

Comments

  1. misssrobin says

    June 25, 2012 at 12:56 pm

    Nice negotiating.
    Stopping by from SITS.

    Reply
    • anotherjennifer says

      June 25, 2012 at 1:19 pm

      3 year olds love to negotiate!

      Reply
  2. tori says

    June 26, 2012 at 8:07 am

    I’m a little behind you guys. But my 2 year old has pretty well mastered the art of negotiating! There is no activity during the day that doesn’t start with “But what about this…?”

    Reply
    • anotherjennifer says

      June 26, 2012 at 8:06 pm

      Ah, yes. I used to get a lot of “but, but, but….” while he was thinking of an argument.

      Reply
  3. Cynthia says

    June 27, 2012 at 4:08 pm

    Yeah, offering choices to a pre-schooler is definitely a balancing act. My youngest hasn’t learned the art of negotiation yet, but he definitely responds better when given a choice.

    Reply
    • anotherjennifer says

      June 27, 2012 at 8:40 pm

      I think Biz was born negotiating!

      Reply
  4. Lisa Cash Hanson says

    June 28, 2012 at 12:14 am

    I’ll have to remember all this when my baby gets older 🙂 Thanks for visiting my blog for Sits day I appreciate it Jennifer-

    Reply
    • anotherjennifer says

      June 28, 2012 at 8:18 am

      You’re welcome, Lisa. Happy to have discovered your blog!

      Reply

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