Make the Choice Real

A choice only works if it's honest. Three rules keep it that way.

• Both options must work for you. If only one answer is acceptable, you don't have a choice — you have a demand in disguise, and kids smell it instantly.
• Keep it small. Two options suit younger children; older kids can handle three. More than that turns a simple moment into a stall.
• Only offer what you can honor. "Walk or be carried?" is real only if you can actually carry them.

Break these and you teach a harder lesson: that your words can't be trusted. A fake choice erodes trust faster than a plain command ever would.