7. Give Your Child Meaningful Choices To Empower Their Sense of Control.

Choices are a powerful tool that really does enable children to be more compliant. “Everyone in this world wants some power and control over their own lives. Have you ever said “I feel like my life is so out of control”? We feel stressed and anxious when we are out of control. There are 4 basic types of choices:

1. Concrete Choices:  “Do you want apple juice or milk for dinner?”
2. Playful Choices: “Do you want to run up the stairs to bed or do you want a piggy back ride?”
3. Choices with Incentives: “If you choose to clean your toys quickly, than you can have some play time on the tablet.”
4. Choices with Consequences: “You can choose to brush your teeth, or I can brush them for you.”

When you use an abundance of choices with your kids, you’ll find that they will be more likely to comply with your requests.  When kids feel in control of their lives, because of all the choices you give them, they won’t need to fight back to gain control during those times when you can’t give a choice.”