Bribes and Boundaries With Your Child

Most of us are aware of what bribing is. Afterall, it’s not a secret that children can sometimes be really difficult. It reminds me of the iconic scene in the movie Lord Of The Rings where Gandalf the Wizard shouts “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!”- That’s what it feels like when you’re running late and you need to them to just accept that the red cup is missing and you don’t have anymore time to run around the house searching for it. They have their little feet firmly planted in front of the door with a pouty lip and arms crossed with the “you shall not pass…until the red sippy cup is found.” look. It’s probably tempting to break out the M&M’s and tell them “if you just get in the car this once without the red sippy cup then you can have some candy.” And I’ve talked about why bribing isn’t the greatest long-term response before. Instead, you want to establish boundaries. However, the difference between boundaries and bribery actually isn’t quite as obvious as parents tend to think. While you’re probably not offering candy and treats in exchange for compliance, but those aren’t the only forms of bribery. I see it often in my free parenting group The Parenting Posse– well-meaning parents offer advice to someone not realizing that they’re actually suggesting a “bribe in disguise”. So, what’s the difference and how can you tell if you’re bribing your child or setting a boundry? Int this episode we will be sharing: Why you want to avoid bribery if you want to see long-term changes in their behavior How to tell the difference between bribery and setting boundaries Tips on how to set effective boundaries that work If you’ve found yourself overthinking how to get your child to listen or maybe even using bribery more often than you’d care to admit pop in for this week’s Mudroom. Grab the Scripts to Manage the Top 10 Crazy-Making Behaviours: prnt.link/scripts Watch the video recording here: Join the Parenting Posse: prnt.link/group the Mudroom is recorded live every Wednesday at 1:30pm ET/ 12:30pm CT/ 10:30am PT on Facebook: facebook.com/arfamilyservices