With this year of elections and choices, we ask the question, “How can we guide young children to make choices?”

Making choices is a vital part of daily living; here are some tips to helping your children.

I hope the following helps:

—Infants are curious about everything as they learn, test and absorb the environment around them. Touching everything, crying a lot to express their needs, and playing with things over and over are typical behaviors. Let your infant explore within safe limits, as you talk to them about where they are and what things they are looking at.

—Toddlers are becoming independent. They are learning to cope with irritations or frustrations. As you observe a child this age you will notice they play by themselves a lot, they are not ready to share, and they are playing with children around them, as opposed to playing directly with other children.

Toddlers may throw temper tantrums, hit, and at times bite. As a parent of a toddler you have to come down to their level to spend time with them in guiding them as well as teaching them to make right choices and explain to them why a choice they have made, such as hitting, is a bad choice.

Provide quiet activities such as Lego building, homeliving activities, or pretend-play. 

Trying to reason with a child at this age is completely foreign to them. Remove them from the situation that seems to frustrate them.  Reasoning with them with words they may not understand does not help the situation, but action does at this stage.

—Preschoolers up to age 5 are better understanding expectations for behavior and their consequences. They have a better command of words and expressing them. They enjoy playing with other children. 

Behaviorally they are more active, may test the limits with adults, and they begin to want to have friends. As a parent, set the rules, let your preschooler physically play, and provide opportunities for your child to play with other children.

Talking a lot to your young child, role playing different situations where your young child has to make choices,  and reading stories to your young child where the story characters have to make choices are ways to guide young children in making decisions for right choices.

Guiding children who become adults has to begin in those foundation years of life. As I have said in many Kids Corner articles, “TIME” for a young child spells “LOVE.” As you prepare your young child for future decision making in making choices, keep in mind you are preparing a person who will vote, live, make decisions in their daily lives that will not only affect a city, country, or world but their future as a person who lives and gives to a better day.

Beth Pinyerd serves as director of younger children at Faith Family Fellowship in Spanish Fort.