BARGAINING WITH KIDS, GOOD OR BAD?
“Time to go,” you tell your child.
“Not yet!” she answers and ignores you.
What to do—negotiate or not? Child experts encourage negotiation in most instances. ”The negotiation between parents and kids can actually be a great learning experience for your kids,” says author Same Brown (How to Negotiate With Hour Kids Even When You Think You Shouldn’t). If you don’t negotiate, your children may not learn how to deal with conflicts constructively. If you don’t teach them how to work with you, they may never learn how to work with others.”
But it’s no walk in the park! Listen to Beth Zonis (one of our Peer-to-Peers): “I have a very challenging — yet, of course, lovable — son! Even though I’m not a single mom nor am I introducing new dynamics into our household, I find that negotiating with my son is the most challenging of all! I need to be a role model, find a workable solution to the dispute at hand, and set the stage for future arguments. Plus, I can’t walk away, except for a short time. And he knows I won’t hurt him.”
There Are Times to Negotiate and Times Not to Negotiate
“None of us has time to negotiate every conflict but we all negotiate our way through parenting whether we realize it or not. So, the question is not ‘Should I negotiate?’ but ‘When and how?’ Keep in mind that some issues are not negotiable (safety, health) and some times are not appropriate to negotiate at all.”
Scott Brown
Author, How to Negotiate With Kids Even When You Think You Shouldn’t
Your Friend & Partner…
I really think your blog is great! I’ve added a link back here; I hope that’s alright as I’d like my readers to check your site & articles out. It’s on my blog @ repek.org/blog. Always like to honor high quality content. Great job!…
thanks, so much, for your support! can i send you a review copy of the Dare to Ask?