How to Discipline Hard-headed Children? What To Do When Kids Refuse To Follow?

Hard-Headed Children Stubbornness stubborn child spanking

By Camille Hutchison , Parent Herald Sep 20, 01:11 am

Children are generally playful, but sometimes they become hard-headed and stubborn and won't obey instructions. According to Healthy Place, many parents are figuring out how to discipline their children, especially when they refuse to listen. Parents feel that the more they try to get them to listen, the more stubborn they become.

Some parents try to divert their child's attention in managing their stubborn behavior. They observed that children wouldn't quickly obey a firm "NO," either they ask why or simply ignore their parents.

Some parents try to give their kids directions instead of orders. However, when children are being stubborn, they still won't follow directions.

Kids do not like others to control and manage their activities. They want to have liberty in almost everything they do. If parents try to stop them and ask them to do a task, they will feel bad and unable to complete it.

A study from the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences in Leipzig determined that one-third of all individuals have a mutated gene that makes them hard-headed. Thus, being stubborn can be credited to a person's genetics.

Dealing with kid's stubbornness and disciplining them

Parents must avoid disciplining children using violence such as hitting or yelling at them. Parenting can be exhausting when the child refuses to listen, leading to frustration and getting upset when tough parenting decisions are made.

When parents feel they exceed their limit, they sometimes resort to spanking or hitting their child, which is already corporal punishment. Hitting a child with any object falls under the United States definition of abuse, meaning this form of hitting is illegal.

Healthy Place suggests setting firm and clear rules and limits that children can easily understand. A refusal to listen is only a sign of a lack of understanding. Parents must establish consistent and logical consequences, so kids know what to expect when they don't listen. Parents or other adults must openly communicate with children about the consequences of stubbornness without hitting or spanking them when they don't listen.

Spanking children brings no good as studies determined that kids who were hit at a young age (3 years old) were 50 percent more aggressive when reaching the age of five, Child Development and Family Center says.

Making kids eventually listen and obey rules

Parents must be role models at all times so children would also know what to do. Kids need full attention; thus, when they have something to say, you must give them your full attention so they will give back the same energy. When kids need or ask to do something, parents must respond immediately for their relationship to work.

Listening and constant communication with children play a huge part in teaching kids to obey rules set for them. Parents must find the balance and know when to stand firm, per A Conscious Rethink.