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Give Your Child Simple Choices to Teach Decision Making Skills

Last Updated: September 14, 2009

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Parenting Tips for Your 39-40 Month Old Child

Choices for young children can be very simple and are an important learning tool for making decisions. For example, your child may want to choose what clothes she wears for the day. Let her decide if she wants to wear a blue shirt or a green shirt.

Give her two choices for the vegetable for dinner. Make sure you have both on hand. It will frustrate her if you don’t have the one she picks.

Sometimes children have trouble choosing. If this happens, move on to something else to take the pressure off and then return to the decision. Extra time may be all your child needs to make the choice.

Point out decisions that you are making. Talk about when you make a choice, like choosing what to have for dinner. Children learn most by watching the adults in their lives. They want to be like you!


Learn more about Your Child: 39-40 Months from Just In Time Parenting. You can also go to our Resource Links for additional information on child care and development.


Note to Parents: When reading this newsletter, remember: Every baby is different. Children may do things earlier or later than described here. This newsletter gives equal space and time to both sexes. If he or she is used, we are talking about all babies.
References: These materials were adapted by authors from Extension Just in Time Parenting Newsletters in California, Delaware, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Tennessee, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, and Wisconsin.

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