Is Your Kid Powering Up?
It’s time to take the buzzard by the beak.
Every family has a powerful kid.
He’s the one who flings himself in the door, demands the car keys, and then argues with you that his trip to his buddy’s to practice basketball is more important than your trip to the grocery store.
She’s the one who, at 2 years old, stomped her foot and said, “Do it by self.”
He’s the one who drags his feet and can’t find things as you’re trying to get him out the door to school so you can go to work.
She’s the one the principal calls about, because she’s been caught writing unacceptable emails.
He’s the one who says he’ll take out the trash but never manages to do it.
She’s the one who disses you at Target, then expects you to buy her the hottest new shirt.
He’s the one who talks back, no matter what you say.
She’s the one you sigh over at night.
He’s the one you worry about when it’s 1:00 a.m. and he still hasn’t checked in.
She’s the one who’s so sensitive that the entire family walks on eggshells around her.
He’s the one who’s even more stubborn than you are.
Do any of these sound familiar?
If so, you of all people can understand that there’s a reason some animal mothers eat their young.
Power can come from a lot of places and can look different in the ways it plays out, but the effect on the child, you, and your entire family is the same. Here’s what I mean.
When my kids were little—I have five of them, spread across a wide age gap—I loved making even the shortest car trips fun. It helped that my kids were young enough to be gullible. For example, when we’d drive up to a red light, I’d lean over and give a little puff, and the light would magically change to green. The kids were amazed at the power of their dad. Of course, they didn’t know that I’d been watching the light from the perpendicular direction change to yellow, so I knew ours would become green at that very instant.
On those car trips, we’d frequently pass by a power plant in Tucson, Arizona. The first time, the kids asked, “Oh, Dad, what’s that?”
“The hamburger factory,” I quipped.
“Ooohhh,” they said in unison awe.
They called it that for a long time.
You see how much power parents have?
But so did that power plant. It wasn’t very big, but wow, look at all the houses, businesses, and streetlights that were powered by that seemingly small unit!
It’s the same with your powerful child. He—no matter what age or stage—is powerfully affecting much more than you think. He’s the child who is orchestrating your entire household by his antics—or the fear of his antics. She’s the one who so frustrates you that you take it out on other family members because you don’t want to face a blowout with her. It’s simply too exhausting. So that powerful 2-year-old, 5-year-old, 8-year-old, 11-year-old, 15-year-old, or 19-year-old is controlling all your family as a result.
That’s why now is the time to take your buzzard by the beak—to take those power surges and transform them into positive urges. After all, power plays only continue when they’re working.
But what if that innate power could be redirected to develop your child’s natural talents? To help him stand firm against peer pressure in the most crucial years? To give back to the family not grudgingly but with a smile? To make a difference in your community? Think of all that power causing you grief and frustration being harnessed for the good. You’ll be amazed at what your child can accomplish!
Someday you’re going to spend a lot of time picking out the dress or tux you’ll wear to that child’s wedding. I know you’ll look wonderful in it. But better than that, you’re going to say to yourself with great satisfaction, “I did my job well as a parent, didn’t I?”
That’s because you, parent, are smart. You did the things you had to do, even when you were frustrated, angry, and annoyed, your back was against the wall, and the chips were down. You hung in there. That’s because you were convinced that your child was worth the effort, no matter what others felt or said to the contrary.
You never know who could be in your home right now. The very child demanding a drink of water and a bedtime story as you try to read this book could be the next president of the United States, set to manage multiple tasks. The one you have to coax to interact with others and who prefers to stay in his room might be the next Bill Gates, set to change computer technology as we know it. The one who argues with you nonstop might someday be a state attorney. The kid who thought he could fly off your roof—even though you warned him that all that goes up must come down—might be the next Albert Einstein. The sassy child who is always challenging the system might be the next Rosa Parks. The kid who mixed chemicals in your garage—even when you told him not to—and blew out the garage door might be the one who discovers an entirely new form of environment-friendly fuel. And the child who is always spelunking in mud, sticking poison oak sprigs in his pocket (you know because you got the blistery rash when you did his laundry), and leaving streaks of manure from the neighbor’s garden he blew through on the way to your kitchen might be the one who discovers the cure to cancer.
Think of all the energy you have harnessed in your very own power plant—and what it might mean someday.
Parenting Your Powerful Child reveals:
It’ll help you:
I guarantee it.