My son has suddenly turned into a picky eater. He didn’t used to be, but lately he’s spent the majority of picking out all the things he claims he doesn’t like, which is just about everything. It’s become quite a battle at the dinner table. What’s worse, he’s decided he thinks he’s in charge and doesn’t have to listen to mom anymore. If she says, “No candy until you eat your dinner,” he simply says he’ll just have it anyway. Where did this stubborn streak come from anyway?
You can’t win with him; he can argue with you for hours and insist he is right, so the only thing left to do is simply follow through on whatever you said in the first place. Trying to argue it out is only a waste of breath. However, if you give in you have taught your child that all their arguing paid off and they’ll argue even longer next time.
Their incessant wails can be rather irritating and while you would do anything to make it stop, you don’t want them to think that it is ok to yell and scream when they want something. They need to learn to listen to you. Ultimately you have their best interests in mind, so there’s no need to feel guilty, though they may try and manipulate you into feeling that way. Kids can be pretty stubborn, but you need to show them that you can and will outlast them every single time because you are the parent. Put an end to the battle while the issues are smaller, the older they get the bigger the issues, and the more extreme the consequences will be. If you have already set down the law with them while they are young, they will know that you aren’t going to budge when they are older either. In the meantime, I’m going to go work on getting Logan to eat those peas again.