Saw you on The View from the Bay, BRAVO!! I share your mantra whole heartedly. Especially when it comes to allowing your kids to make their own decisions. I have been trying to convince a coworker to allow her daughter to make her own decisions but she feels I'm crazy to think a three year old can decide what to wear or choose a bedtime book. Since my daughter was able to express like and dislike, I have allowed her do make decisions. Granted four times out of five we walked out the door with what Stacy and Clinton would consider "What not to Wear", but " I didn't care". She was proud of her decision and that is all that mattered to me. Along the way as the decisions became more consequential I found ways to stear her decisions in the right direction, unbeknown to her. My daughter is now a confident, independent fourteen year old. I trust her decisions and she has developed a pretty keen sense of judgement. These days I even ask her for her opions to help me make decisions, sometimes I think she is wiser than me...