Tips to Make Your Child Listen

If you call your child once, twice, three times, and then only when you scream do they respond—rest assured they won’t move in the future until you scream. It becomes a matter of habit.

• Break the Screaming Habit: Don’t get your child used to shouting. Get up, take away whatever is distracting them, look them directly in the eye, and ask: “Why aren’t you answering Mom?”
• Set Clear Consequences: Agree with them that if they get distracted and don’t respond, the item will be taken away immediately. If it’s the TV, it gets turned off; if it’s a phone or a toy, it gets taken away. Do this calmly and without anger so you don’t spend the rest of your life screaming.
• Avoid the Negative Cycle: Either the child will learn the skill of screaming from you (and you’ll later complain about their nerves and outbursts), or they will develop apathy and indifference, becoming pleased with provoking you just to hear you scream more.