SignpostIt is so easy to have arguments with your child when they don’t behave the way you want or expect them to. It is easy to nag and shout when you don’t agree with the way they do things. If we did this all the time our relationship with our child would be in pieces.  They would feel useless and their self-esteem would be on the floor. Of course, that is not what we want for any child. Is it easy to stop ourselves from arguments? Can we stay quiet and let things go? For the child’s sake we have to, so we need to think about what is important to us and what we value. We need to choose our arguments.

Choose Your Arguments And Your Battles With Your Children

Think about what you currently argue about or nag your children for. Is it really important? Or are those issues silly to argue over? If not, then perhaps it is time to let them go and ignore those niggles. Of course there are some things that you have to take a stand on (drugs, drink, smoking, relationships) but things like what shoes they wear when it is raining or who they invite to their birthday party are just not worth the arguments. They may only be worthy of a short discussion or no comment at all. It’s not only that its the mood that can follow an argument. The bad tension. It is the resentment from your child. Letting them win or make a decision is a good thing as it empowers them so let an argument go from time to time.

Not all battles are worth fighting. Many only lead to frustration and upset from the child and yourself. One of you may win but does it really matter anyway? What battle could you let go of? Here’s more reading on picking your battles and power struggles. It’s a great article I found.

(PHOTO CREDIT: Image courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net)