It really works! Going back to my 18-month-old son??He was, and still is, a very independent spirit. (I have no idea where he got that from!) When my husband picked him up from daycare, Marky would refuse to hold his hand. As soon as my husband would grab his hand, Marky would instantly go limp and fall like spaghetti to the ground. After a bit of frustration, my husband finally gave him his choices. ?œMark, you have to hold Daddy?™s hand in the parking lot or Daddy will have to carry you.??For two days, Mark instantly collapsed to the ground so my husband scooped him up and carried him, kicking and screaming, to the car. On the third day, when Mark received his options, he decided he would rather walk to the car holding Daddy?™s hand than have to be carried. It has been over a year now and he has never given us another problem about holding his hand.

Choices with Homework

If you develop the habit of giving your children some choices, and respecting their choices, at appropriate times throughout the day, homework time will soon become smoother. However, there are many ways you can give your child choices when working on homework. Some examples are:

- ?œYou need to study for your spelling test on Friday. Would you like to study for 10 minutes every night this week, or for 20 minutes on Tuesday and Thursday???/P>

- ?œI have to make dinner tonight and then have to take your sister to dance. Would you like to work on your homework now with me, or by yourself while I drive Jennifer to dance???/P>

- "We have three books that fit your teacher?™s criteria for a book report. Which one of these three do you like best???/P>

- ?œWhich do you want to do first, your math or science homework???/P>

- ?œHow much time do you think it should take you to do your language arts homework, 15 or 20 minutes? I?™ll set the timer for ___ minutes. See if you can get your homework done before the time is up.??/P>

- ?œYour teacher suggests that we get a magazine subscription for you because you seem to prefer reading shorter stories and articles. I was looking at some options and think that any one of these three would be good. Which one do you want???/P>

More than Just Giving Choices