Let’s say you’re a kid. You’re at the playground. Your grown-up brought you there to, presumably, have fun. There’s a structure for climbing. You climb on it. Your grown-up is standing down below you. And he or she is saying this: No. No–wait. Don’t put your foot there. Come back around this way. I don’t– You’re […]
The brain is wired to resist coercion. That’s why being told what to do triggers defiance. Unless we feel very connected, in that moment, to the person telling us what to do. This is an intriguing piece of the parenting puzzle that I wrote about in “The secret to stopping power struggles.” Here are some ideas for creating a little connection in the moment: 1. […]
Ever made a New Year’s resolution that didn’t stick? Consider this: Sometimes we think we want something. But we don’t realize we have a conflicting need that overrides it. Before I wrote Zero to Five: 70 Essential Parenting Tips Based on Science, for example, you would not find me speaking in public. No sirree. You would rarely even find […]