Five Conditions for Obedience

1. Listen to the child. Do what she asks some of the time.

2. Set an eat and sleep schedule and stick to it. Sleepy hungry kids don’t obey very well.

3. Talk about why our family does things (because it works better, we are smart, and we love each other).

4. Tell your child what you want him to do clearly and give consequences (take a nap or we cannot go to the playground later). Try to do what you say you’ll do (no nap, no playground).

5. Have a timeout chair, room, or corner where a child can scream without you trying to get her to stop. The rule at our screaming corner was: “You can leave the corner and we can talk when you stop crying.”