Teaching Kids About Using Common Sense

Book smarts is one thing, but “street smarts” and common sense are quite another. Every person is different and has a varying degree of natural common sense in their personality. But no matter the level of your child’s common sense and intelligence, you can still teach him to use what they’ve got to the best of their abilities and help them develop it wisely and thoughtfully.

Kids are like sponges and will learn by instruction, example, and practice. Here are some ways you can instill common sense into your child and help him get better and better at putting his common sensibilities into practice. He will grow into a more responsible person and make smarter choices when faced with a struggle.

Start Early

Allow your child to make simple choices at an early age. If you do everything for him and never let him experiment or explore, as he gets older, he won’t be as confident to make decisions. Of course, your parenting will guide him down the smart path, but give him a chance to choose right from wrong and see where his mind takes him. Kids are smarter than we think, and the more we put our trust in their basic decision-making skills, the more they’ll use them. Kids are naturally curious, so let them seek answers on their own when possible.

Allow Them to Fail/Make Mistakes

Along the way, your child will pick the wrong choice or make poor decisions. This is how he’ll learn to reassess the next time and try something that works better. Failure is only the stepping stone to future success. Let your child use his mind to learn right from wrong and good from bad by practicing his common sense skills. The worst mistake is to never try.

Trust Their Instinct

Before telling your child which move to make, give it a moment and allow him to try to figure out what to do. Instinct is a powerful tool that can lead your child to make decisions you never knew he’d be able to come up with on his own. Watch how he uses his senses to assess situations and weigh the pros and cons. We have lots of influence over our kids, but if we leave them to their own devices now and then, we can see how they can thrive.

How do you teach your child to use and develop his or her common sense? For more information such as this, please visit AMC’s blogs.

By: Melissa A. Kay