Saturday, February 26, 2011

A Simple, but Useful Parental Tool

I just thought I'd share this little nugget.

Not long ago I began using a technique that could have saved me so much time and frustration in the past. As more of my children enter the teenage years, it has proven both efficient and effective. It is simply this:

Anytime one of the kids asks me for something––"Can I have this/that? Can I go here/there? Can we do this/that?––and I don't have an immediate answer and don't really want to deal with it at the moment, I just respond, "No, unless I change my mind." Bam! Discussion over. I'm free to resuscitate the topic later at MY discretion. If I forget, I've already given my answer with no promise to remember. I've agreed to nothing and they can't later say, "But you said. . ." I hate that!

Hope you find it useful.

1 comment:

Casey said...

Mom and I decided we really liked this tip. She even shared it in RS on Sunday.