At What Age?

by Dr. Marian C. Fritzemeier, Ed.D.© 2012

Author, Speaker, Educator

 

At what age will you allow your children to DECIDE...
 

the condition of their bedroom?

the clothes they wear?
their hairstyle?

what television shows they view?

the music they listen to?

the movies they see?

the friends they choose?
pack their clothes for a trip?
how often they use their phone & texting?

what they do on their computer, IPod & other electronics?

when they do their homework?

the classes they take at school?

whether to attend church with you?

how they spend their money?

who they date & when?

where to work?

where they will live?

what career they'll choose?

                 

In the last article, Dependence to Independence, the analogy of your children being 100% dependent on you at birth and becoming 100% independent from you as they launch into young adulthood, is the foundation to these questions. Is your nine-year-old making 50% of his/her daily decisions? Is your 12 1/2 year-old making 75% of his/her decisions?

Of course, this isn't an exact formula, but the key question is, How are you intentionally allowing your child to make increasingly more choices? I realize this concept is frightening, but it is even more frightening to launch a young person into today's secular world not possessing the life-skills, responsibility, and decision making abilities to make God honoring choices throughout adulthood. It's your privilege & responsibility to decide how you will train up your sons and daughters in the way they should go (Proverbs 22:6).

Image from: Stock.XCHNG www.sxc.hu/ calendar 283313-s. Accessed 4/17/2014.