Don't throw your food! Stop kicking the ball in the house! Don't hit your brother! Stop leaving your bedroom light on! Don't talk with your mouth full! You shouldn't tell your sister to get lost! Don't even think about playing your Play Station! Sound familiar to you? For lots of you, these types of statements will resonate strongly and no matter how many times we tell our children not to do something, they still go ahead and do it anyway!! I've probably spent hours and hours of my life retelling these types of stories to family members, friends or sometimes to anyone who would listen! I remember having countless conversations going something like this, "I can't believe [he's] smashed my favourite vase. I specifically told [him] not to kick the ball in the house. I warned [him] that this would happen. I just can't believe it! Why won't [he] just listen to me?" And the fact of the matter is, your child is listening to you! They ar
Picture the scene: You've just arrived back from a stressful day at work and are stood in the kitchen trying to decide what to make for tea. You ask your teen what they might like to eat and they answer with a non-committal shrug. This infuriates you and you blurt out, "You make me really frustrated when you won't tell me what you want for tea," (or words to that effect!) and before you know it you're ranting about how ungrateful they are.....etc and the whole situation has exploded! Sound familiar? Why we blame the other person and what actually happens When something happens to us (i.e. a stimulus) it triggers an emotional reaction within us. Have you ever reacted ( negatively) in a situation and wondered why on earth you reacted the way you did? Maybe you haven't been able to understand why you said what you said, or did what you did in a certain situation? Teenage years can be extremely stressful and one thing's for sure, negative reactions are n