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Teenagers Making Right Choices
- Sometimes we have to
tell children what to do.
- But sometimes children
need to be able to make their own decisions:
- Should they go with
this person?
- Should they accept a
lolly or money from this person?
- Should they try a
cigarette or taste this drink?
- Is it their turn on
the computer?
- Should they do this
because their friends are?
- When children are making
decisions they need to ask:
- Will this hurt any
person's body, feelings or things?
- Will I get hurt if I
do this?
- Will this hurt the
environment?
- What would happen if
everybody did this?
- Is this something I
could do again and again?
- Is this something
that's okay 'just this once'?
- What would my parents
say if they knew about this?
- Is this something
that's okay if no one finds out?
- Is this something I
can't talk about?
- If I do this will I be
sorry?
- If I don't do this
will I be sorry later?
- Sometimes a choice has
to be made because several things seem right.
- If the wrong answer is
chosen we have to deal with the consequences. So do children.
- Encourage children to
talk about wrong decisions as well as right ones. They can learn from
their mistakes and successes.
- Practice 'what if's' to
prepare your child for certain situations (these will change as the child
grows older), for example:
- "What if Mummy was
late and there wasn't anyone to collect you from school?" - ask - "What
would you do?"
- "What if a friend
offered you a smoke?" - ask - "What would you do?".
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