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Sunday, March 25, 2012

Regardless...

There are few things more annoying than incessant whining and complaining by your children.  It's enough to make you give in and do whatever it takes to stop the noise.  But, kids are more clever than you think.  That's just what they want you to do and that's why they do it.  When you give in to their demands, you are unconsciously reinforcing the exact behavior you want to stop.  There is something pretty easy you can do to cut down on the number of times they try this tactic.  First, remember to remain calm and even tempered yourself.  Stand by what you say and mean what you say.  If your child argues with you, try using the word "regardless" and restating your stand.  By doing this, you acknowledge that you heard what your child said, yet you don't agree or disagree with him.  Usually you only need to do this a couple times before you deflate the argument.  Example - Your child wants to go to a friend's house but you don't want him to.  He complains that you never let him go.  You say, "Regardless, you can't go over there today."  To which he replies, "That's not fair!"  And you respond, "Regardless, not today."  And so on.  It's really hard to argue with someone when they don't keep the argument going.  Try it out sometime.

3 comments:

  1. Is that why you always said Regardless to me? Hmmmm I must have whined a lot =P

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yes you did, Bek...yes you did...

    ReplyDelete