HOME

BOOKMARK

NEWSLETTER

Join our newsletter to receive news of offers and discounts

Search

AS FEATURED IN...


Lucy Siegle On Eithical Living: Sunday March 5, 2006 The Observer

Weight Watchers®.co.uk. Now with an online plan.

Navigation


Parening Books

Search Now:
Amazon Logo


What Do Chinese Water Torture and Arguing with Children Have in Common?


Imagine yourself lying flat on your back, totally strapped down onto a cold, hard table, unable to move any part of your body. You can't see anything around you because your eyes are covered. You find yourself imprisoned by the enemy and you have no where to go for help. The room is silent except for the slow, steady, drops of water that fall on your forehead.

The longer you lay there, the more uncomfortable you feel. Your body tenses up after each drop of water as you anticipate the next one coming. Your nerves feel frayed as you find yourself helpless and powerless to get out of this situation! You're not sure how much more of this you can take before you lose all sense of sanity. This is exactly what it feels like to a parent whose child constantly argues or whines.

Parents unknowingly become ambushed by their argumentative and/or whining children. It begins when the parent says something like, "No, you can't do that today" and the child refuses to accept the parent's edict. The moment the child begins arguing, he's arming himself with all the reasons he has not to listen to his parent. He is totally focused on getting his way. When a parent argues back to a child, he or she has forgotten who is in control.

Why? Successful parents know better than to get into an argument with their child. It shows the child the parent can be manipulated and swayed. When a parent and child face off and argue with one another, they create a battle ground of wills. The ambush for parents begins when the parent answers back to the arguing child. An invisible web then covers the parent, taking away some of his freedom. The more the parent argues, the stronger the web becomes, draining the parent's energy and taking away his control.

The unfortunate part of this plight is that it leaves no winners. Arguing causes one's blood pressure goes up as the heart beats faster. Muscles in the face and chest begin to tense. There's shortness of breath as the body reacts to the rising emotional feelings. If the parent wins the argument, the child loses and feels angry at the parent, instead of looking at how he created this situation. When the child wins the argument, the parent loses his place of control and power in the relationship. This damages the sense of safety the child has. He needs to know his parent is stronger than he is so he'll be taken care of and kept safe by his parent.

Every time an argument begins to take place, the parent has the emotional memory of past arguments and how unpleasant they were. He may move immediately into a defensive posture, preparing for an ambush. He's determined not to go through the torture of arguing again. Or, he may immediately feel himself drained of energy. He's unsure of himself, afraid of losing control. Either way, the lurking fear of being captured, and the torture that could await him whispers in his mind.

How can a parent avoid getting into this painful predicament? Do not allow yourself to become ambushed by your child's words. When the arguing starts, look your child in the eye and softly say, "I love you too much to argue" and then quickly walk away. As you do, see yourself fleeing toward freedom; no more bondage and torture. You have set yourself free and are once again in control of your children.

MaryLynne White
Can a Game Really Compel Any Child to Behave? "How to Become a Super Nanny in Your Own Home! Free Consumer Awareness Guide Shows You How..."
http://www.ParentSurvival911.com


MORE RESOURCES:

ABC News

Fall Babies May Have Higher Asthma Risk
ABC News - 3 hours ago
Children born in the fall months, before the height of cold and flu season, may be more likely to develop childhood asthma than babies born at other times, ...
Autumn babies at greater risk of asthma: study Reuters
Autumn Babies More Likely To Get Asthma KETV.com
Fall babies may be more likely to develop asthma Globe and Mail
Daily Mail - Newswise (press release)
all 75 news articles


ITV.com

Type of buggy can affect baby development, study finds
guardian.co.uk, UK - 13 hours ago
But today researchers add "buggy worry" to the list, with a report suggesting front-facing strollers could deprive babies of their first lessons in life by ...
Away-facing buggies 'hinder babies' The Press Association
Babies who face away from mothers in buggies could be left ... Telegraph.co.uk
Buggies bug babies? Fresh News
InTheNews.co.uk - Daily Mail
all 154 news articles


Boston Globe (registration)

Over 1000 melamine babies still in China hospitals
Reuters - Nov 20, 2008
Door-to-door screening of more than 307000 Beijing families with children under the age of three found that over 75000 babies had been fed contaminated milk ...
Battered Chinese Dairy Industry To Undergo Major Overhaul AHN
Over 1000 melamine-affected children still in Chinese hospitals RIA Novosti
Gov't shows milky way to troubled dairy firms China Daily
Xinhua
all 338 news articles


SmartAboutHealth

In vitro babies have more birth defects
Seattle Post Intelligencer - Nov 18, 2008
A new study released this week from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that babies conceived through in vitro fertilization are two to ...
Birth defects linked with assisted reproduction Chicago Tribune
Assisted reproduction and the risk of birth defects Los Angeles Times
Birth defect risk raised by in vitro fertilization Reuters
National Business Review - SmartAboutHealth
all 111 news articles


Study: Away-facing strollers stress babies
CNN - 22 minutes ago
LONDON, England (CNN) -- Parents who choose a stroller that seats their baby facing away from them could risk long-term development problems in their ...


'Take care of my babies,' suspect pleads
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, PA - 9 hours ago
"She said, 'Take care of my babies,' " said Darlene Wakmunski, who spoke by phone Thursday with her sister. "She felt bad for the agent and his family. ...


Hospital Welcomes ‘Miracle Babies’ Home
Queens Tribune, NY - 16 hours ago
By Nicole Alibayof The monitor was showing a flat line and the baby wasn’t breathing. Nineteen minutes later the doctor was still trying to resuscitate him ...
Infant child care is scarce in Central New York The Post-Standard - Syracuse.com
all 2 news articles


Javno.hr

Rapid care 'cuts baby's HIV risk'
BBC News, UK - Nov 19, 2008
Rapid drug treatment of babies with HIV dramatically cuts their risk of death and debilitating disease, international research shows. ...
Early HIV Treatment Best for Babies U.S. News & World Report
Early HIV Treatment Cuts Babies’ Death Risk eFluxMedia
Treat HIV-positive babies from the start Science News
Business Day - Reuters India
all 64 news articles


Coroner rules babies deaths accidental
WHOI, IL - 14 hours ago
By Blake Long Both babies, 5-month-old Jaylin Maxison, and 2-month old Kendrick Franklin Jr. were co-sleeping with adult caregivers on adult beds. ...
2 Baby Deaths Ruled Accidents Central Illinois Proud
Two infant deaths ruled accidents Peoria Journal Star
all 3 news articles


Former Banker Makes Millions Inventing Baby Dolls
MarketWatch - 23 hours ago
Dan left the comfort and security of his position as vice president of Royal Banks of Missouri to pursue a seemingly absurd passion -- creating baby dolls. ...

babies - Google News