She threw a fit because the eggs were scrambled in a skillet rather than a baking tin. That's when my friend realized she had given her daughter too much freedom. This second grader had gone years deciding her own breakfast, and had reached the point where she wanted to dictate each step in the cooking process. And my friend wondered where she had gone wrong as a parent. What had she done to turn her child into a little diva? Where should moms draw the line in letting children make their own choices? Once another mom confronted me about my refusal to let my preschooler choose his own snack. I couldn't figure out how to explain it at the time, but I was trying to establish my authority. Even in little things like snack time, I knew I needed to show my child that I am in charge, not him, that I have the final say. Yet never letting a child make a choice teaches them to be weak and fearful. I heard a story about a ten-year-old who went out to dinner with her aunt. The child … [Read more...]