I Need Help Being the Parent
HELP!! The power struggle amongst Madalyn and I has been getting intense lately. I continually pray for wisdom and patience but the situations just seem to be getting worse. I ask Madalyn to use her words and talk to me about what she needs or what is wrong but she just “grunts” at me. She doesn’t want to listen until she gets in trouble and then she tells me, “I am ready to listen, daddy.” Then the cycle continues all over again. I don’t know what to do, the timeouts are not that effective and I feel like much of our time together is spent arguing, and “no” I am not talking about my exwife. :-) I just hate feeling like my kid is always mad at me or that I am a drag but I tell her I am just trying to help her to get what she wants. We have things we need to do before we can have a treat, like eat dinner. Going any place turns out to be a nightmare. I am incapable of controlling her and I don’t know what to do. My words are empty to her and my actions have no real effect....