When our children are young there are not very many decisions they can make. We have to decide most things for them. As they get older they need to be able to make more and more decisions on their own. As a parent this is often a difficult transition to watch. We want them to make the "right" decisions. Sometimes they make decisions that have negative consequences for them. Sometimes we have an image of who they are and when they make decisions that don't fit our image we are miffed. Certainly, due to brain development, hormones and other factors they simply make "poor" decisions. Since rebellion is part of adolescence sometimes they are just trying to get a rise out of us and assert their independence.
In my office, I see sort of a continuum of parental functioning regarding decision making. At one end we have parents that either turned too much decision making over to the child or did not make this a gradual transition. At the other end we have parents that still make most of the decisions for the teen. Somewhere in the middle is a healthier balance. I am always concerned when I see a high school senior that still is not making most decisions. Please don't misunderstand me. Parents are still in control but I worry about those kids headed for college still not making most of their decision. I always ask adolescents what decisions they are allowed to make themselves. They are usually surprised but some do make many decisions and other really have to idea how to answer this question.
Parents always want their children to be happy and not have to suffer or be sad. I think this contributes to why we avoid the process to help them become good decision makers. I like to think about this as being able to trust them to make decisions, knowing that they will make some bad decisions. I would prefer they make those bad decisions while the stakes are lower and while I have the ability to hold the safety net during this process.
If you are new to turning this over to them think about starting with the smaller decisions and allow them to experiment with decisions with a lower cost. Also, know that some decisions that seem crucial to us may not be so big in the scope of the world. Don't try to intervene even if they ask. Tell them you trust them to decide this. If it falls off the track process with them about how they feel this worked out. Problem solve with them options in the future or how to alter the decision, if possible now. As they become adults the decisions get so big that you want to trust they have this skill
Good luck and try this on a small scale today. Sherri