Poor or bad decisions have resulted in almost one-half of the youth in this country engaging in one or more of the following problem behaviors: substance abuse; school failure; delinquency; or early, unprotected intercourse (Bogenschneider, Small, and Riley, 1990). Adolescence is a time of increasing opportunities to make decisions about whom to be friends with, whether to go to college, who to date, whether to have sex, and whether to use alcohol or other drugs.
Decision making is an important skill to learn because we make decisions every day, big and little. Parents want children to grow up to be independent, responsible, happy adults. Learning and using a decision-making and problem-solving process will help them grow toward this goal.
Teens need to make more and more of the decisions affecting them. They will learn and grow from their successes and their mistakes. If parents make most of the decisions for them, they will not be ready to take on this task as they become adults.
It was when my own children were toddling around our house that a father of a teenage boy asked me a question I'll never forget: "How can I expect my son to hear the still small voice of God with all those other voices screaming in his ears?" I never fully understood the seriousness of his question until my children entered their teenage years.
