You can have a truly miserable interaction with a kid and still come back with a triumphant finish. Here’s the bad start: You accuse your kid of acting like a spoiled brat. She counterattacks with, “You’re mean! I hate you!” You both stomp off in a huff. Here’s the good finish: You go to your kid’s room later that evening when your anger has subsided and say, “Hey, Sophia, I was really annoyed with you for saying I never let you do anything fun. And you were really annoyed with me for saying no to your sleepover. I’m not annoyed anymore and I’m ready to talk about different possibilities for a
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