Things Your Strong Willed Child Needs From You

As a parent of a strong willed child, I have learned some tips and tricks on how to handle their challenging temperament. Here are some things I’ve learned that my strong willed child needed from me, and hopefully this helps you in your parenting journey.

Strong willed children are independent, assertive, and determined according to the journal of family studies. These strong personalities are not easy to parent, and I know this first hand.

If you aren’t sure if your child is strong willed or simply stubborn, here are the characteristics of a strong willed child to help you. Another thing to note, these things that you strong willed child needs from you is more for older children. If you’re dealing with a strong willed toddler, read this.

Without further ado, here are the things your strong willed child needs from you.

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5 Ways To Make Parenting A strong Willed Child Easier

More Yes, Less no

If you have a strong willed child you might have noticed that the word “no” is a huge trigger which usually starts a power struggle. This is true in my house.

Now I don’t mean say yes to everything and forget all limits and boundaries altogether. That would be YES PARENTING and It’s not the best parenting style in my opinion.

What I do mean by “more yes, less no” is that it’s a good idea to find ways to say “no” without saying the word “no”. This can be done with “Yes, If” statements.

Yes, you can play a video game, If you clean up your craft mess first.

Yes, you can visit your friend after school, if you finish your weekly reading list first.

The point to say “no” less, but still use your limits and boundaries.

See also: Things Only Parents Of High Spirited Kids Would Understand

Time and Attention

All kids your need your time and attention, but strong willed children tend to need a little more. I have noticed this among my children. My strong willed child behaves a lot better when I spend quality time as opposed to being busy around the house all day long/

I like to make sure I spend a little bit of one on one time every day with each of my children to make sure that they all get the time in with me that they need. Quality time is important to create these connections which are stronger than any punishment you can ever give out.

My favorite parenting hack of all time is connection before correction, in any situation.

Independence

If you have a strong willed child then you know they like to be independent. From toddler years to older stages, they want to do everything themselves. This also means they don’t like being told what to do, so make sure that you allow room in their daily life to be independent, no matter the age.

See also: Tips To Make The First Day Of Preschool Exciting

Praise

Strong willed children need to be praised for their good work. Not just strong willed children, all children do, but strong willed kids will need a little extra praise for their efforts. They will also need more encouragement when things are not working out the way they planned.

Praising children is not always a good thing, so I do have a guide on how praise negatively affects kids. But a good balance of praise and encouragement is a good idea.

Physical Activity

Strong willed children often have a lot of energy! If you want better cooperation at home, get that energy out. When my kids were smaller we used a trampoline like this and encouraged them to jump on it before bedtime. This helped us get the kids to bed!

Strong willed children are spirited and courageous and with that they will be testing all the limits, including their own. Make sure you allow them the space and time to get that energy out while they play.

You can even use something like a sensory swing to help release some of that energy if you can’t get outside to play.

See also: Helping Your Child Choose Good Friends And Be A Good Friend

Things Your Strong Willed Child Needs From You Bottom Line

If you have realized that you have a strong willed child on your hands, then I really hope these tips help you as much as they helped me with my own strong willed child. I have a few kids, but the one that is strong willed is certainly the most challenging and exciting!

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“GENTLE PARENTING IS A LIFESTYLE THAT EMBRACES BOTH YOUR PHYSICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL BEHAVIOR, NOT ONLY TOWARDS YOUR CHILDREN, BUT TO YOURSELF TOO“

— SARA HOCKWELL-SMITH

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