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- Choose your battles. It’s easy for parents to get burned out by conflict or the battle of wills in a household with a strong-willed child. But you don’t have to engage in every battle.
- Have clear expectations. Children thrive with boundaries, structure, and routine, says Amodio. They might complain about these things, but deep down, it's what keeps them feeling safe and supported.
- Find ways to give your child some autonomy. For strong-willed children, it’s critical they feel like they have a voice and get to make some decisions for themselves, says Alana Carvalho, LMHC, and author of Raising Empowered Children.
- Explain your reasoning. Strong-willed children often need to understand the why behind requests, decisions, or boundaries that parents establish. Taking the time to explain your reasoning can head off what might otherwise be a battle.
- Don’T: Let Your Child Eat you.
- Don’T: Continuously Resent Their Personality Traits and Temperament
- Don’T: Play The ‘Do as I Say and Not as I Do’ Card
- Don’T: Remain Closed Off to New Ways of Doing Things with Your Child
- Don’T: Remain Stuck in What’s Not Working with Your Child
- Don’T: Let The Judgments of Others Get to You
- Don’T: Take Your Child’S Behaviors Personally
- Don’T: Forget You’Re on The Same Team
This world needs all kinds of personalities and you have a mover and a shaker. You have a kid that will stand up and speak up to make a difference ifyou teach them to use that fire inside of them wisely and respectfully. The strong-willed child needs to feel safe both physically and emotionally. Show them you’ll be there for emotional ups and downs...
For the first few years of raising a strong willed kid you may wish they’d just listen, put on their dang pajamas the first time asked and stop asking questions about everything. Over time, you might come to realize your child has many strong willed characteristicsand personality traits that will serve them well out in the world someday starting wi...
Your child is smart as a whip and they’re going to call you on your bullcrap. You know, like when you repeatedly communicate to your child to stop yelling at their little brother, in a manner that could easily be construed by a fly on the wall as YELLING. When it comes to the strong willed child, effectively disciplining a child is all about walkin...
“Sometimes when you’re in a dark place you think you’ve been buried, but you’ve actually been planted.” This quote from Christine Caine speaks volumes about raising the strong willed child. What differentiates humans from other life forms? The capacity for higher thinking and the potential for human growth. Strong willed kids are great at holding u...
You had the best intentions (as most of us do before we actually have the children) when it came to how to discipline a child but are realizing now that constantly dragging your child to time-out and making their life as miserable as possible by taking their possessions away is not doing anything but causing more chaos. It’s easy to reach this ‘dis...
One of the hardest aspects of raising a strong willed child is dealing with judgment and criticism from others. Nobody knows your unique child and what they need better than you do. Remind yourself not to fall victim to snap judgments from others when it comes to your child’s behaviors or the way you’re disciplining (aka teaching) them.
When you’re Parenting a strong-willed child you may as well just throw your ego right into a blender. Science clearly indicates that kids are born with a unique temperament and personality, but when it comes to acertain kind of temperament parents tend to forget about nature and start obsessing about nurture. You can fall victim to the mistaken bel...
Spoiler alert, many parents raising a strong willed child are fairly strong willed themselves. I remember having such a strong sense of conviction and pride as a child that I’d rather sit grounded in my room for days than admit I may have been wrong. This is the essence of the strong willedchild. The only way to get out of a power struggle is to no...
- Be Calm. Calmness helps you tap into your intuition and parenting intelligences. It lets you respond to their beliefs rather than their behaviors. For example, your child may have an outburst, but instead of immediately correcting the behavior, you can try understanding what he sees and wants.
- Be Clear. Clarity helps you reinforce boundaries rather than spend your time and energy nagging and arguing. Tell your child the rules and consequences – good and bad – and reinforce what you have discussed.
- Be Consistent. Consistency helps strong-willed children learn that being in charge is not up for grabs. While it’s not always easy, the parents must be united in their approach.
- Follow Through. Strong-willed children want to know that you mean what you say. They respect and trust resolute authority. When you follow through, it is as if you’re putting money in the Bank of Trust between you and your child.
2 days ago · Discover characteristics of a strong-willed child by reading our blog. Learn how to nurture independence and resilience in your child.
If you have a strong-willed child in your family, I’m sure you already know it. You don’t need anyone to point him or her out to you. Typically smart, confident and loyal, strong-willed children show a remarkable capacity for creative thinking and problem-solving, and a nothing-gonna-get-in-my-way determination to achieve their goals.
Do you have a strong-willed child? You're lucky! Strong willed children can be a challenge when they’re young, but if sensitively parented, they become terrific teens and young adults. Self-motivated and inner-directed, they go after what they want and are almost impervious to peer pressure.
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Understanding your child’s temperament — the biological foundation for their personality — can help you know how to parent them, bolster their strengths, and reduce the power struggles that seem to accompany strong-willed children.
