Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles: Winning For a Lifetime

Does bedtime mean struggle time, with your child negotiating for "just another ten minutes" every single night? Do most school mornings end with your child in tears or you bellowing as you race through breakfast in order to catch the bus? Do your children sit stone-faced in front of the TV, despite your repeated requests that they get up and do their chores? You don't have all day to negotiate--and after all, aren't you supposed to be the one in charge?

Parents and kids pitted against one another, opposing forces pulling in different directions--both determined to win! Every family experiences power struggles, but these daily tugs of war are not inevitable. In Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles, Mary Sheedy Kurcinka presents real strategies for getting to the root of the emotions and needs that can create daily hassles. But power struggles aren't just about winning or losing. They provide rich opportunities for learning how to deal with strong emotions and for parents and children to solve problems together.

Kids, Parents, and Power Struggles helps you to unravel the mysteries of power struggles by offering insights into differences and normal growth patterns, recognizing that every child is unique and every discipline situation different. In a new light, Kurcinka views power struggles as an opportunity to teach your child essential life skills such as how to calm herself, to be assertive rather than aggressive, to solve problems, and to work cooperatively with you and others.

• Understanding emotions
• Managing intensity
• Identifying triggers

Hard as it may seem in the heat of battle, conflict really does present an opportunity to connect with your child.