How Not to Raise a Brat

Your child does not need every piece of plastic crap your bank account can afford. My husband and I always bought our girls a few really nice toys that they played with endlessly and they have always been perfectly content with having a few things. Now that our girls are older they have a room packed to capacity with books, but we still limit the amount of toys they have. For Christmas this year, they will get the things they really, really want and that’s it. You don’t need to give your child everything, just enough to keep them content. You’d be surprised how happy a child can be with two or three dolls and a tea set or two Tonka trucks and a racetrack. Allow your child’s imagination to soar, not be overburdened with too much stuff to choose from.

#3 Set Real, Concrete Boundaries and Don’t Be Slack

From day one let your child know what to expect from you and they will comply with the rules. Promise. When you make a rule, stick with it. Children will always test you to see if you mean what you say. As a parent you have to mean everything you say. When you have given your child a consequence and you don’t follow through, then when they act up it’s all your fault. Stand your ground and stick to the plan. It’s when parents are on shaky ground that children walk all over them.

#4 Get Down to Their Level

There was only one time when my youngest daughter tried to throw a fit in the grocery store. I caught it right away, got square in her face, and I told her in a stern voice that she was not going to whine about not getting what she wanted. She got the drift and we went merrily about our way. Never shout at your child or threaten them from afar. Bend down or pick your child up, look them in the eye and tell them that you are not going to tolerate a certain behavior and then have a consequence ready should they try to test you. I would always threaten my daughters with having to take a nap when they got home, which was only a very rare occasion. They hated taking naps and so they would straighten up right away.