Recommendation #1: Command. Don’t ask. Don’t negotiate. Modern American parents are forever rationalizing their decisions to their children. There are many problems with that approach. The mere fact that the parent feels compelled to negotiate already undermines the authority of the parent. When you lay down a rule, and your children ask why, answer, “Because Mommy (or Daddy) says so, that’s why.” American parents two generations ago did this routinely and comfortably. Most British and Australian parents still do. American parents today—seldom.
