Do you ever feel like your kids are just not listening to you? Or they don’t care what you have to say?

Well,… If you haven’t figured it out yet, that is pretty normal for a lot of parents. My parents went through the same things with me when I was young. But as I got older, I started wanting to make my own decisions without my parents constantly telling me that what I was deciding was “not the best” or that they thought that “I should consider…”.

In truth, I simply wanted to grow up. I needed to learn how to make decisions on my own, meaning that I was ready to go through the consequences of my actions if I made a wrong choice. I tried to explain to my parents that it wasn’t that I didn’t want to listen to them, or that I didn’t care about their advise, but rather that at a certain age, I needed to be allowed to fail. Sometimes, kids need to see and learn for themselves what it means to fail. (Not if it will cause irreversible consequences. Stop them before that.)

As a parent, you never want your child to fail, but for them to grow up, they need to understand that they will have to make decisions for themselves and then accept the aftermath of those choices. (Again, depends on the age. Sometimes, then just need to listen.)

So, maybe instead of getting frustrated with your child after the thousandth time of them not listening to you, let them fail. They will be able to get back up because they know that you are there for them. And don’t make the consequences disappear, let them work through it so they can grow. It is all a part of the growing up process.