More Thoughts on Love & Logic: Principle #4

This is the fifth post in a series about the book Love and Logic Magic for Early Childhood: Practical Parenting from Birth to Six Years For other posts in this series, click here.
-------------------------------------------
The fourth and final basic principle of Love & Logic is to share the thinking. It involves guiding a child toward solutions, not just doing it for them. The trick is to again ask lots of questions, instead of just giving them commands. 

There are five steps for helping kids own and solve their problems:
1. Lock in the empathy (see principle #3)
2. Ask the child, "What are you going to do?"
3. When your child says "I don't know," ask, "Would you like to hear some ideas?"
4. Offer no more than three possible solutions. After each one ask, "How would that work for you?"
5. Allow your child to choose -- and learn from the choice and your empathy.
(page 106)

These steps give kids practice toward problem-solving when they're older and you're not around. Instead of giving in to temptation without a second glance, they'll actually think about the consequences of their actions before acting on them.

Wouldn't it be great if your children could learn, early on, that every choice they make affects the quality of their lives? (page 24)