Skip to main content

Camber Children's Mental Health

Your Kids Won’t Listen? Here’s Why and How to Change it

It happens to all parents. You ask your child to do something but they don’t do it. Forced to repeat yourself multiple times, you might eventually resort to begging, pleading, or even making threats to try and get your child to comply. If your kids won’t listen to you, you aren’t alone. This is a common frustration felt among parents everywhere, and luckily, there is a solution for getting your kids to listen to you.

Giving Good Directions eBook

 

This might come as a surprise to you, but a big reason why children don’t follow directions sometimes is because of the way parents are giving directions. You can probably identify with at least one, if not several, of the examples below:

Nagging/screaming

  • (in a very loud voice) “You never do what you’re supposed to do. Why can’t you behave better?”

Making threats

  • “If you don’t pick up your clothes, I’m going to throw them in the trash.”

Giving unclear/vague directions

  • “Let’s not do that anymore.” 

Using too many words

  • “Now, after you finish making your bed, you need to get dressed, comb your hair, brush your teeth…” 

Asking a question

  • “How about eating your food at the table?”

Using stop commands

  • “Stop yelling! Don’t do that!” 

If these sound familiar and you’re ready to learn some new tactics for getting through to your child, we have a solution for you! Download our FREE eBook, The Most Effective Way to Teach Your Kids to Follow Directions. You will learn effective ways to give your child directions and gain resources for practicing these methods and tracking your child’s progress.

About KVC Hospitals

KVC Hospitals provides behavioral health services for children and teens ages 6-18 who struggle with depression, anxiety, trauma, suicidal thoughts, and other mental health challenges. Each year, we help thousands of youth through our network of inpatient hospitals and psychiatric residential facilities by providing treatment, care, and skill-building so they can understand their diagnoses, connect to their support network and thrive.

Giving Good Directions eBook