Using enforceable statements to communicate with your kids

The birth of a child brings with itself warm love and cute cuddly fantasies full of teddy-bears, candies and everything sweet. Parenting the child however, brings with itself sleepless nights, questions, answers and unending arguments. Be it an 8 year old or an 18year old, getting kids to listen is a gigantean feat unconquered by most parents.

“Clean your room” you say and the kid just rolls eyes and walks out of the room. Or, “put your toys in its place” you say and the next time you come out of the kitchen, you were about to go skating down the hall way on your kids toy car. These are just some of the very few unenforceable statements. Getting kids to listen with anger, sarcasm and frustration just fuel misbehavior therefore creating an emotional and mental power struggle between the parents and their precious little ones.

So getting kids to listen, how is that possible? The job can be done by fusing the heart and the mind, logic and love. Getting kids to listen can be accomplished by using enforceable statements, making kids feel like they are ALSO in control of the situation. They feel like they have a choice. And they do choose for the better. With these statements parents don’t get into tizzy situations, where they seem like trying to get control over certain things that are almost uncontrollable. Getting kids to listen with enforceable statements could take some patience but the results are achieved with persistence in usage. Getting kids to listen with enforceable statements enlighten them what the parent would allow or do.

Some examples for getting kids to listen using enforceable statements are as follows:

I’ll listen as soon as your voice is as calm as mine.

I keep the toys I have to pick up. You can keep the ones you pick up.

I’ll do all of the things I do for you around here when I’m feeling respected

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Parents are born with the birth of their child. They are not “born parents”, with innate talent or patience to tackle their kids and their resistance to do certain things. That said no child wants to face a howling harpy in the morning or any other time. If getting kids to listen is what you want to achieve use enforceable statements, and cut down the nagging, bickering and bring back the “YAAY on a HOLIDAY”.