A Frequent Single Parenting Issue Is Stubbornness » Parent Plaza

When you become a single parent, it sometimes feels as if you have signed a formal agreement to endure single parenting issues for the next 20 odd years. From babyhood to adulthood, there is always some parenting issue that parents have to deal with. However, with the proper know-how, many single parenting issues can be successfully circumvented.

Patience is a Virtue

Yes, that is indeed a common saying, but for those who are dealing with the parenting issue of having a stubborn child, it really can be immensely helpful. For instance, let's assume one is faced with a kid who refuses to clean their room.

It helps to be patient. In this case, help the child understand that television privileges have been revoked until such time that the room is clean. In order not to appear authoritarian, you could start picking up the toys to set the example. The child who refuses is only making things difficult for themselves. Eventually, the child will be tried of disobeying, finding that television is a bit better than having a messy room.

See the World Through Their Eyes

Whether stubbornness in their child is the main parenting issue or not, parents need to see the issue at hand from the perspective of their child in order to come to some sort of resolution. Looking at stubbornness from the child's perspective helps a lot regardless of the age of the child.

A teenage child is undergoing all kinds of emotional and physical changes, and that has a definite effect on the stubbornness of the child. After all, the parents were adolescents once themselves, so being able to remember that time in their own lives can be beneficial when dealing with single parenting issues.

Can one lay the blame for teenagers being very stubborn fully at their own feet? After all, they are just on the cusp of becoming adults, yet they still are legally not able to assert their rights yet. Being stubborn is their way of rebelling against the establishment. Parents, no matter if they are young or older, can identify with this.

Understanding and showing understand is key to dealing with stubbornness as a single parenting issue. The child needs to understand that what they are doing is wrong, but they also need to know that you understand where they are coming from. Children respond to parents who have an anecdote of their own about how stubborn they might have been when they were younger. Indeed, patience and perspective are two great ways to get the message across with the common parenting issue of stubbornness.

Associated News Items

Parenting program plans 3-session class (The Advocate)
NEWARK -- The Capable Parents Program of Pathways of Licking County will offer a parenting class for parents and caregivers of children from birth to kindergarten age. ...more

Parenting class may help ex adapt (The Post and Courier)
Ex-Etiquette for Parents: My ex and I have been divorced for three years. We have one son who's in the first grade. We're attempting to co-parent, but our parenting styles are vastly different and it is affecting our son. ... ...more

Parents Sending Troubled Youths to 'Boot Camp' (The Signal)
When many local parents reach the final straw when it comes to their children's mischievous behavior, the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station offers programs for at-risk youth who may otherwise be headed down the wrong path. ...more

The Access Entertainment Week In Review (AccessHollywood)
LOS ANGELES, Calif. (August 5, 2007) -- Celebrities' children proved to be a major focus this week in the world of entertainment. Nicole Richie announced her pregnancy, Eddie Murphy acknowledged paternity of his former girlfriend's child, and Britney Spears' parenting skills were called into question once again. The week... ...more

No charges against Pahl in Berrien County: Cases dropped after federal sentence for former abused children's center ... (South Bend Tribune)
ST. JOSEPH -- Berrien County dismissed local criminal sexual conduct charges against the former director of a center for abused children and teens Monday. ...more