Choosing to give choices

About a year ago I did some research on parenting techniques and found it to be super overwhelming. I asked around to my Mom friends and the book that come most highly recommended to me was Love and Logic.  While I like a lot of things about Love and Logic there are a few thing that just don’t work for us, but giving choices is ingenious!  I started with Gabe around age 2 and he was really receptive, my life seemed to get easier almost over night.  I gave him 2 options to pick from at every meal, 2 options to books to pick from at bedtime, well… 2 options to pick from most of the time.  Then as he got older it started to get a bit harder, I am sure some of you  remember the Piggy Back post from the summer.  So again I went to my fellow Mom friends and asked to help me out.  What do you do when there doesn’t seem to be a choice to give?  How did you get creative with your choices?  I got a few answers…

The choices don’t always have to be things they can be about times for example when we are ready to leave the YMCA I ask Gabe if he wants to leave now or in 5 minutes.   I also started giving choices about where certain tasks need to take place “Would you like to get dressed in the bathroom or in your room?”  I also had a few friends nice enough to share some of the more comical choices they gave their children.

“Would you like to walk to the car or crawl like a dog?”  (Of course they crawled)

“Would you like cereal for breakfast of cat food?”

“Do you want to take a bubble bath or an ice cube bath?”  In the dead of winter.

“Do you want to ___ (brush teeth, pick up your cars, etc.), or do you want me to tickle you to death?”

Anyone have any funnies to add???