Developing decision-making skills

Psychologist Rebecca Eberlin, PhD, shares advice for parents on the best ways to help your child develop good decision making skills
How To Develop Good Decision Making Skills In Your Kids
KidsInTheHouse the Ultimate Parenting Resource
Kids in the House Tour

Developing decision-making skills

Comment
66
Like
66
Transcription: 
Making decisions based on thoughts and not our emotions is really tough, even for adults. We see people having really reactive choices being made and flying off the cuff and when kids don’t learn this at a young age, we see them having a really hard time learning them as adults. I’m sure you have a friend in mind that’s similar to what I’m talking about. But the reason we want to teach children to make decisions based on their thoughts is that it forces them to slow down. What we know is the way we think about situations impacts the way we feel, which impacts the way we behave. If we can get children to start thinking about the way they’re thinking, what that’s going to do is give them 3 to 5 more seconds to really slow down and make a better choice, because their choice they’re making is not a reactive in the moment decision. It’s based off of a more accurate thought that they’ve had about the perception of the situation that they’re in.

Psychologist Rebecca Eberlin, PhD, shares advice for parents on the best ways to help your child develop good decision making skills

Transcript

Expert Bio

More from Expert

Rebecca Eberlin, PhD

Psychologist

I am a California state licensed psychologist, who specializes in providing evidence-based treatment and assessment to children, adults and families with a variety of emotional, behavioral and developmental challenges.

A proud Wolverine, I graduated from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor with Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Political Science. I then returned to California and completed my Doctoral training at Pacific Graduate School of Psychology, an APA accredited pre-doctoral internship at Sharp HealthCare, and a post-doctoral fellowship at the Children’s Health Council.

I relocated to Los Angeles in the summer of 2011 to conduct prevention-focused research at UCLA’s Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior at the Global Center for Children and Families. During my time at UCLA, I became the lead psychologist and Director of Services and Operations at the UCLA Family Commons in Santa Monica.

Throughout the course of my career, my research and treatment interests have included working with children, adolescents and adults who struggle with behavioral and emotional challenges, such as depression, anxiety, impulse control disorders, developmental disabilities and other family-based issues. I also conduct parent education seminars that focus on a wide variety of issues including resiliency, stress, relationships, social media and friendship and bullying.

While my primary location is West Los Angeles, I also have offices in Northern California. If you are interested in obtaining coaching or cognitive testing services in the Bay Area, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Please please visit my website to learn more about me, my practice and how therapy can work for you.

More Parenting Videos from Rebecca Eberlin, PhD >
Enter your email to
download & subscribe
to our newsletter