Posts Tagged Giving Choices

Influence Youth

On June 23, 2015 / Effectiveness, Parenting

To understand how much more powerful it is to influence youth rather than overpower them, consider this short story:

A young boy was to start kindergarten the next day and was protesting that he would not go. A normal parental reaction would have been to banish the youngster to his room and tell him that he had better make up his mind to go because he had no choice. (Note: the youngster may have had no choice as to the decision but he certainly had a choice as to how he could react to it.)

Rather than taking this approach, the father reflected, “If I were my son, why would I be excited to go to kindergarten?”

The father and … >>>

Options and Discipline

On April 7, 2015 / Discipline

Giving three options works wonders in just about any situation.

For example, let’s assume your airline flight has been delayed and you finally get to your hotel room at midnight. But because it is so late, the hotel clerk informs you that your hotel room has been given to another guest.

Rather than get angry, tell the clerk that the hotel has three options: (1) give you one of the suites they reserve for their special guests at the rate originally given you, (2) pay for the transportation AND room charges for another hotel that they arrange, or (3) call the general manager of the hotel. The result: You will be given one of the hotel’s special rooms for the … >>>