A Willful Child Needs to be a Skillful Child
Willful children are a misnomer. They actually are belligerent because they can’t articulate their needs and express their anger and anxieties. Typically when parents face a child with a temper tantrum or oppositional behavior, they try to use rewards and punishments to teach the lessons they want to share. However, the punishments are usually resented and the negative behavior increases. The rewards may work temporarily but the lessons learned aren’t internalized only the wish for the reward.
The problem with this typical scenario is that the child is delayed in his or her critical thinking skills. What are they?