Are Children Running The Household?

For the past month I've witnessed very young children dictating to their parents. "I want this, I don't want that, I want to stay, go or just plain no!!" Obviously, this is happening everywhere, as I saw a sitcom the other day touching on the subject. Are young children running the house? Are they qualified? If they cannot handle your finances, emergencies, grocery list and emotional challenges, then surely they should' nt be the family advisor. Unconditional love sometimes means setting boundaries for our children that may not make parents popular, but are necessary for the childs' growth. The problem arises when parents allow fear to interfere with their decisions. "I'm afraid they won't love me, if I become firmer".

A good way to look at this scenario perhaps is imagining you have a cute baby pitbull. So sweet and fuzzy, warm and cudly. He's so cute, I just HATE saying no to him!! But, he must have guidance until he becomes full grown, so as not to wreak havoc in the neighborhood and eat everyone. So what happens when we don't guide our child? If we don't teach boundaries to our children, if we don't teach them to respect our guidance, then we must accept responsibility for their future of "tough lessons" our child will attract. Because, what they don't learn at home, Life will surely teach them later.

Never be afraid to guide your child toward better understanding and fairness. Is it fair to wait for your child at the playground, because they want to ride the swing 10 more minutes, when dinner must be prepared at home, or a sibling needs picked up from an activity?

Trust your decisions and actions as a parent. Demand firmly and plainly; albeit without anger, that your child abides in them.
Your child will not abandone a caring heart. If you are fair and handle all challenges in a sober fashion; without anger or violence, your child will NOT stop loving you for putting your foot down now and then, ...well, not for long anyways. :)

Master Kathryn Kiffmann