Have a strong-willed child?  So do I!  From day 1 he’s been stubborn and what some would consider”difficult”.  I remember my grandma sending me newspaper articles when he was a baby/toddler on how to handle a difficult child. I remember everywhere we would go I would get unsolicited ”advice” from all sorts of child behavior “experts”, normally in the form of elderly women whose own children “never acted like that”.    His years 3-5 were one constant frustration and struggle.

I remember crying daily and feeling like I was failing as a mother.  But now I don’t see his strong-will as a negative, though it can be very frustrating and I definitely don’t want to break his strong will.  I know that as he learns to direct that drive and stubborn ambition into something positive that there will be no limit to the success he can have in life.  He is so self-driven and motivated and even at his young age he is looking to the future and making plans.   Yet we also deal with daily head-butting and arguing.  Yes some days our daily life feels more like a tug-of-war game where no one wins.

When I came across this article it was exactly what I have been needing.   [Read more...]