Isn’t it better for children to learn to make decisions and take risks when they have the safety net of the family to fall back on?

 

When we moved into one of our houses, Stephen and Stephanie had the chance to pick which bedrooms they wanted.  No big deal there. Then they could pick any paint they wanted and make all the decisions themselves.

 

Okay -- Stephen picked black and white -- I really mean black and white:  checkered floors, white walls, black trim, white stripes inlaid into the black trim. Simple, yet elaborate.

 

Stephanie picked an intense teal/aqua wall with solid black trim, and black floor.  She accented her room with a pink/mauve color.  Carol and I  kept quiet about the whole thing.

 

The risks they were taking did not really matter.  Why not let them make these choices.  We didn’t have to control these decisions.  They were fine.