Nothing pushes most parents' buttons more than when their child argues when asked to do something.
When a child argues, it can often quickly escalate, pulling in all sorts of wrongs, emotions, and even personal attacks.
When a child is arguing, it is not the time to teach them life lessons or what they should be doing. Instead, your goal should be to deescalate the situation and get your child to a point where they can accept your answer or do what was asked.
The biggest thing is to remember that an argument takes two and that if you, as the parent, don't engage, your child can't argue. The skill of Following Instructions helps parents take a break from the situation by focusing on the original issue and not being drawn into tangents or arguments.
Once a child is calm, you can address the thoughts and feelings brought up during their argument. It's important that our child feels able to express their ideas and feels. We just want to teach them to do it appropriately, and arguing isn't appropriate.
We hope you'll reach out to us on social media for more information about Following Instructions and how to use it to stop arguments.