Each child comes with certain behavioral traits that set them apart from the other kids. As a parent, it becomes important for one to accept their child and work on their shortcomings with patience and acceptance. However, in some scenarios, a child can become defiant and refuse to comply or cooperate with parents. Such a stubborn attitude from children may lead to arguments between parents and the kid.
However, it is to be noted that in such a scenario, aggressive behavior or capital punishment may not work out. To make the child understand your perception and make them comply with your suggestions, it is important to take a different route. While it might become a bit challenging to understand your child's behavior and rigid behavior, creating a positive experience may help mold their attitude without creating any negative experience for the child.
Here are some effective tips and tricks to make a stubborn child cooperate at home.
Without proper boundaries and well-established rules, a child may feel rudderless. Hence, the child needs to know what is expected of them and the possible repercussions that they might face if they do not follow and live up to these expectations. The expectations can be as simple as keeping one room clean or fulfilling one's academic duties. Additionally, parents can help the child carry out these tasks by helping them make a schedule or breaking everything into small pieces for them to do things one by one. In this scenario, the child might not feel overwhelmed and enjoy carrying out everyday duties.
Consistency is important for discipline and punctuality. While rules might put forward a proper structure in front of the child and lay out a plan that they have to follow, continuous scrutiny and discipline ensure that they build a proper habit of following these rules. To make this easier, you can create a timetable or a simple duty chart for your child. They may look at it every day and understand what has to be done throughout the day. At the end of the day, you may ask your child all the tasks that they were able to fulfill and the ones that they weren't able to do. You may also go deeper into understanding the reason behind, not being able to complete a particular task and give them an alternative solution. Try to make this conversation as age-appropriate and friendly for your child as possible.
Sometimes with stubborn children, it becomes essential to let them know the consequences of not following the household rules. These consequences do not have to be in the form of capital punishment. They can be as simple as making the child read a moral story or do some extra household chores for breaking or not following the rules. This may make the child understand that if they do not fulfill certain expectations, then there will always be action taken against them. It may help the child become more punctual and compliant.
Talking to your child may help in understanding their perspective and the reason behind their non-compliant behavior. In some cases, a child might be going through some personal or emotional distress and feeling isolated. As a result, the child might become too stubborn so that they can gain attention from parents. Such issues can be highlighted through transparent and healthy communication. You may sit with your child as a friend and actively listen to their perspective. If you feel like there is a need for some professional intervention, then you may also go for a family counseling session. This way you may clear their doubts logically without making them feel afraid or dismissing their opinion.
Positive reinforcement is a great way to make the child feel motivated. It is an effective tool that can be used in the form of kind words or appreciation tokens whenever a child follows instructions at home. Parents can adopt this policy as it can help them look at the brighter side of the picture. Many times, because of the rigid attitude of the child, the parents may only see the negative aspects of the child. This technique can help bring out the positive sides and build a happier and healthier relationship between parents and kids. The child might also feel motivated.
Children are great learners and parents can be a significant influence on a child's behavior. Your kid may learn many habits and skills by observing you at home. Hence, as a parent, you can try incorporating good habits into your lifestyle to inspire your child to follow the same. For example, contributing to household chores and listening to everyone's opinion. Witnessing this at home, the child might become influenced and begin to practice this slowly and steadily. Soon, you might witness some transformative changes in your child's attitude without having to directly teach or enforce something on them.
Each child is unique and has a lot of hidden potential in them. However, the needs and requirements of every kid are different, which is why they must adopt specific strategies that cater to their requirements. In the case of a stubborn child, with patience and a positive attitude, parents can mold the behavior of a child.