How To Get Your Child To Listen

"We'll take you to Chuck E Cheese, you'll get a new toy, you can stay up a little later". We've tried them all to get our son Dylan to listen to what Mommy and Daddy wants done. What's a parent or grand parent to do with a four or five year old who's beginning to bargain for what they want. My wife and I did some research and we'd like to share with you what we've learned.

Some things that have already worked are:
1) I'll get down on my knee and look at him eye to eye. By talking to him on his level, I've made progress. Use a calm voice of reason also.
2) I'll give him choices. I'll ask him what he wants for breakfast tomorrow, pancakes or waffles. When he decides, going to bed suddenly becomes less of a hassle.
3) I'll act goofy. I'll ask him to do a chore with a funny voice or I'll pretend I'm a robot and he'll join in as a robot to complete the task.
4) I'll compromise. Okay, one more round of wrestling and then into the tub.

Now I'm no expert but Susan Stiffelman, Family therapist and Author of 'Parenting Without Power Struggles' is. For complete expert advice from Susan Stiffelman read her tips here.