The key question that I ask myself and that anyone should ask themselves when their child is not behaving the way it should is why is the child misbehaving?
Definitely an important question to ask and I like the list of possibilities the you provide under it. Also, your last point about consistency is huge. Something that my wife and I are finding really hard right now is when the other adults in my kids' lives (mostly grandparents, babysitters, and sometimes teachers) will not enforce the rules that we have set in place. When we get the kids back from a time like that, it is like starting all over.
Yes, I agree. On the other rhand it's also nice for the kids that there's a place where it's less strict. My in-laws definitely spoil my kids more, but this will also teach them that there's a difference and that they can behave differently under different circumstances.
Yeah, I am totally fine with grandparents being a more easy going place, as long as it is within the confines of the rule structure that we are trying to establish. For example, they won't really have chores there, but they will still need to clean up the messes that they make. They might get dessert more consistently there, but they will still need to eat dinner first.
I agree. What I have trouble with most is that we get together quite often and with family meals the sons of my brother in law don't stay on the table, but I want my children to remain at the table. This is very difficult, his lack of discipline with raising his kids is starting to rub off on mine.
I can TOTALLY empathize with that. I can hear my kids saying right now "Dad, why do we have to if they (their cousins) don't have to?" How do you navigate that without saying right in front of the other parents that your kids' aunt/uncle don't know how to build good habits in their kids. Tricky situation, for sure.
Hi! Thanks for your support, @growingpower just upvoted your comment ;) Hope you have a great day
You took the words out of my mouth.