To support a child’s autonomy, one needs to consider
him/her as a distinct individual, with his/her unique needs
and feelings (Deci, and Ryan 1985, 2000; Grolnick and
Ryan 1989). In the socialization context, the goal for parents
is to help children feel a sense of agency and ownership
of their behaviors, even though some of the socially
sanctioned behaviors may not be enjoyable. In empirical,
motivation research, autonomy support has been operationalized
as (1) acknowledging the child’s feelings and
perspective, (2) offering meaningful rationales for rules
and requests, and (3) providing choice and opportunities
for initiative taking (Koestner et al. 1984). This definition,
used in the host of studies demonstrating the benefits of
parental autonomy support on children (Joussemet et al.
2008), was based on Ginott’s writings (1959, 1961, 1965).