I also have a couple of children who can't be told no. If I try to do so -- about anything at all -- it then begins a seemingly endless argument.
Last night I got some long wordy text from a child in my own house about our relationship and how bad I am, but my phone was off. So this child, who was in my home at the time, texted a sibling and my husband to ask them if I received the text. I suppose walking up the stairs and asking me would have been way too much work.
Fortunately I have been parenting at least one teenager for 10 years and so I'm getting used to being the one to blame for it all. And I have 9 more years to go before everyone will be over 19. I guess I didn't think that through huh -- 19 years of parenting teens.
But the one thing I do know is that within days or hours there will be a fresh new mood to deal with....
So don't tell them no. Tell them you'd really love to let them do/have/go but their father won't allow it.
ReplyDeleteno means no here - our girls are figuring out it doesn't work to argue with us - if they choose to have a wobbler over it, well then go ahead but there will be consequences such as no to phone priveledges, no to TV etc...
ReplyDeleteAren't teenagers fun? I have 2 teenagers, a boy and a girl. Both are very different in terms of personalities and issues I need to deal with. I don't have all the answers and get quite frustrated sometimes so I usually turn to a great website called Parenting Powers with Susan Epstein. She has so much information on her site and as a member I have direct access to Susan to ask her questions. I just purchased her book, Your Out Of Control Teen, as well read a recent article called I Want to Stop Nagging. Lots of tips and tricks to get the respect you deserve as a parent. Her site is www.parentingpowers.com/member
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