2015-10-21
Clinical psychologist Kelly M. Flanagan explains that “the inability to say "No” — the inability to set personal boundaries — is one of the most common, insidious causes of human suffering.“ Psychologist Joseph P. Allen, who headed a study for the University of Virginia, says: "We tell parents to think of those arguments not as a nuisance but as a critical training ground.” At its core, when kids push back at your authority, they’re trying to exert some sense of control over their own lives. They’re practicing that skill — flexing that muscle, if you will — with you.