Thank you for downloading the Focus on the Family Parenting Podcast. You can find more helpful advice at

Focus on the Family.com slash parenting podcast.

Strong-willed tough personality kids can be a challenge, and sometimes the biggest challenge is to

not take the bait.

Keep a cool head as you try to show them the love and grace of Jesus Christ.

I'm John Fuller along with Danny Huerta, the vice president of our focus on the family

parenting department. Danny, I have a couple of tougher kids strong-willed kids and frankly they feed

bait all the time it seems they they seem to thrive on that why actually strong-willed kids, many of them do actually thrive in conflict. They look forward to conflict. It's very stimulating, very exciting. They can gain control through conflict and many times they learn that.

I can gain control over my parents emotions and turn their day from really good to really bad

fast if they're not complying with what I

So you're saying that all those times that I did take the bait it was my fault

because I had created the little monster? Actually not you it was more you lost your day in that moment. You lost your opportunity to stay regulated.

And just when a child throws a football,

you don't have to catch it.

Just remember that.

So when they're throwing a spiral that says Zinger,

you can just move back, I don't need to catch that.

I want to play catch with you yeah but you just threw a

zinger and I'm right here I don't need to catch it all right so lower the veil a bit

on Danny Werther professional it focused on the family have you had moments like that

where it was like I caught

the ball and I'm throwing it back at you twice as hard? To be honest I've had two kids

...