Parenting the Strong-Willed Child

By T. F.

When my girls were growing up, I taught them to stand up for themselves. I ​tried to model what the high road looks like and tried to teach them about compassion. When they became Tweens, this was an important skill in the world but I soon found myself speaking a regular quote in my own home. "I taught you to stand up for yourself, but not against me."  It became something we joked about but was still important and very, very frustrating.
 
I know that this type of thing can be even more difficult as a stepmom. Especially if you already feel disrespected and pushed to the outside. My mom always called me determined. Others would call it stubborn or bull headed.  Kids are challenging, parenting is challenging.  What often feels like a "step" issue may, in fact, not be step related.  The whole point in raising our children is to mould them into kind, loving, God honoring adults.
 
If you have a strong personality and are raising children who are very much like you, whether they came from you or not, it can bring you to the edge. If you aren't strong willed, and you have a "determined" child, it can bring you to tears.  I know. My daughter is just like me and oh man, did we butt heads. About everything. All the time. She was all mine. I raised her alone, so I had nobody else to pin it on. No PAS and no other parent working against me.

Please take a few minutes out of your day and listen to what Focus on the Family has to say about raising strong willed children. It's a 2 part series. Part 2 is my favorite. The story about the mom with the 16 year old impacted me so much that it changed my perspective years ago.