Being a parent of a kid who is strong-willed can be both a blessing at the same time a challenge depending on your perception. This is because their frustrating and stubborn character today gives them a better advantage to be confident and powerful personality in future.
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What are the parenting tips for these kids?
With sensitivity, compassion and expectation you will conveniently raise a strong-willed kid for a better future. Here are some of the best parenting practices to adopt;
1. Balance personal authority with his/her independence
The main parenting tip for parents is to teach their kids adequate life skills that enable them to manage the everyday life challenges without any fear. Remember strong-willed infants are more advantaged than other kids due to their strength and independence that make them ready to explore everything that comes in their lives. This will enable to realize their potential in whenever they do thus becoming responsible citizens.
2. Be a detective
Many parents are often worried about their strong-willed kid’s behaviors without carrying out personal investigation on why they act that way. Through a thorough analysis of their behaviors, you can give guidance on the right steps that they should take.
3. Positive reinforcement
Make sure you complement anything good that your strong-willed kid does. This is because parents always want to nurture that good behavior that a kid possesses. Remember you do not have to do an extraordinary thing to draw the attention of the kid. This will enable your kid to be positive about whatever he or she does.
4. Never allow the hitting
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Most parents often hit of the strong-willed kids instead of adopting parenting styles, which motivates them. They must be in a position to correct the kids without necessarily resolving to physical punishment. Talk of the kid about his or her behaviors and put the consequences that they will face on failure to obey the set rules and regulations.
5. Understand that wherever a strong-willed kid wants is up the approval of the parent
Most of the strong-willed preschoolers often do not need their parent’s approval due to their independence and explorative nature. It is your parental role to give a directive to your toddlers since failure to do so may enable them to do whatever they want which is dangerous. This will help them be responsible in whatever they do.
6. Speak less and act more
According to the latest research done by University of Alabama’s showed that spending more time talking to a strong-willed kid, enhances that risk of frustrating him/her thus losing his/her attention. Whenever you are instructing him/her to behave or do something in best way possible, keep it sweet and short. The more annoyed and frustrated moms and dads gets while instructing a strong-willed kid, the more the kid feeds off parent’s energy with more conflicting issues that may result to parental failure.
7. Strong willed children need choices
Your strong-willed kid needs to feel he/she has control over his /her life. One of the best parenting tips is to allow the kid with little freedom of controlling his or her life while you maintain control. This will enable you to avoid conflict that may irritate the kid to result in high temperamental issues. In addition, it will also bring issues of responsibility to the kid thus behaving well.
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8. Enforce the consequences
Strong-willed teenagers are probable to believe in a way that enables them to exert their power. It is important to impose consequence of violation of the set rules. This will ensure that the stubborn behavior do not derail the set rules as well as expectations. This will enhance their behaviors in the right way.
9. Let kids have their own feelings
One thing of the parenting advice to avoid hurting the feelings of strong willed kids is to tell them that they are wrong. Their beliefs are that they are often valid and correct. What do you do? Make sure they understand that they are not correct through precise explanation. This will definitely enhance your relationship with the kid.
Finally, remember that the line between a strong willed child being a blessing and a problem is so thing and can only be separated with an adoption of above parenting tips. This will enable you to guide your kid in the best way possible thus in the end becoming that responsible citizen that will contribute positively to the development agenda of your country and world as a whole.
Stay tuned for more parenting tips in the next articles and enjoy our funny parenting quotes after a though day.
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