Choice Matters.
Let’s talk about making decisions.
Have you ever thought about what kinds of decisions children feel empowered to make?
The other day, I was touring a family at my preschool. They were incredible - we totally clicked and enjoyed each other’s company and discussion. The child seemed to love the environment and was overjoyed to be able to explore every part of it! At one point, he was rolling around a big dump truck on the deck outside. He loved that thing and kept pushing and pushing to his heart’s content…until…his heart’s content took him (dun dun dunnnnnn!) inside the classroom!
His parents started to feel visibly uncomfortable. They knew their son must be breaking an important rule and seemed to wonder if they should say something or just leave it to me. When I didn’t speak up, the child’s mom said, “Honey, I think that’s an outside toy, why don’t you bring it back out here?” The child was having so much fun he hardly heard her, and my incredible colleague reassured her, “Don’t worry, we’ve got a broom.”
You see, our preschool is designed specifically to allow children to take ownership of their environment and to make choices that are important to themselves and their development.
I’ll return to my question: Have you ever considered what kinds of decisions children feel empowered to make? If you’ve given this some thought, you probably realize that there really aren’t very many. I think that we as adults take our basic decision-making power for granted. We can design our own schedules, decide what to wear every day, choose what to eat and when to eat it, decide when to get up and work hard or when to sit back and take a break. The same can’t always be said for children. For a child who doesn’t get to choose virtually anything, when it’s time to go to the doctor and they just. don’t. want. to. go….what happens? A tantrum, of course. We think it’s such a silly thing to get upset over, but honestly, if you weren’t able to exercise any ability to make decisions…wouldn’t you reach a breaking point every now and then, too?
Empowering children to make choices is so important. It can:
Encourage creativity, allowing children to be designers of their own environment.
Help children to feel valued, giving them a strong foundation for building a healthy self concept.
Foster the development of responsibility, giving them skills for decision-making and prioritizing.
Allow children to develop problem-solving skills as they solve their own problems, and then reflect on them to solve the next ones.
Bring a sense of comfort and confidence, aiding in the development of self concept and self esteem, with the great added bonus to caregivers of less tantrums and power struggles!
“But why does that matter?”
That sounds great and all, but how can I realistically apply this to my own parenting or teaching style?
Well, for starters, I encourage all caregivers to reflect on where they can actually start to give more choices to their children. Allow them to have a bit more ownership of their environment whenever you can.
But as I reflect back on my recent dump truck interaction with the lovely family, I think about how important a preschool environment is for children to exercise their decision-making abilities. A 1975 study funded by the National Institute of Education actually shows us pretty explicitly that decision-making and self-scheduling has an important positive impact on school success in Early Childhood.
Parents, if you’re looking around for a school to send your child to, look closely for ways children are able to make their own decisions and schedule their day. At my preschool, The Olive Branch, the children are able to choose their learning environment all day — our outdoor classroom and indoor classroom are available simultaneously, generally regardless of weather. They’re able to choose what materials to use, and if they need something for their learning that isn’t readily available, the teachers are there to help them get it or help them find a substitute. They’re able to choose when, how much, and if they eat the provided snack — it’s available for them to serve themselves for a window of time each morning and each afternoon. These choices allow children to self-regulate and exercise their autonomy. School is a place for children and shouldn’t be governed by adult rules and expectations. If school is for helping children grow and develop, then children should have primary ownership over their space and time while they’re there.
Teachers, I encourage you to constantly be in a state of reflection about your classroom or program. While reflecting, ask yourself if your children have as much decision-making power as they truly deserve. See if you can find ways to give them more room to choose.
Do the children in your care have ample opportunities to make meaningful choices? What are some ways we can all redesign our environments to empower children with a sense of ownership and autonomy? Let us know your ideas in the comments!
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