Parents are many-a-times annoyed with children because they start demanding a lot of materialistic pleasures every now and then. It becomes ‘difficult’ for parents to meet their demands especially if they have two, three or more kids.

The situation becomes worse when children get annoyed when they don’t get what they asked for. Parents in return counteract the child’s annoyance by getting angry at the child and here goes the child crying loudly. Finally, the parent realizes that getting angry is no solution to make the child realize that their parents cannot meet all of their demands.

What would be the ideal situation, where the parent can console their child and make sure the child starts understanding that their parents cannot meet all of their wishes?

Any guesses???

A child when small is soft hearted and has simply no understanding of the world and so, he/she can be “distracted” from the demand. It is the transition from the child’s current demand to something more refreshing at no costs which matters more than anything else to dry down the child’s demand.

For example, if the child is demanding a toy costing 1000 rupees or a few dollars, a parent can distract the child by making a child “imagine” a dream like situation which might have fairies and cartoon characters within it…

Or even..

A parent can just buy a very inexpensive chocolate or anything inexpensive that the child loves or cherishes.. and just show your love for them. A child can easily get carried away by visualizations and emotions. A parent must know to pull the child in the right direction. Remember, children love to imagine and fantasize.

Moreover, if the parent knows to become the child’s best friend rather than just a parent, nothing like it.

The basic point is the child and the parent must connect very well to each other or rather said, the parent must make efforts to connect with their child and be able to keep them behaving in a calm, cool and enjoyable manner all the time.

Top Ten Tips for coping with demanding children:

1. Children and parents both have their personal rights and a parent must not impose restrictions on a child’s expression of natural freedom.
2. Parents must not give in to a child’s demands to avoid a scene. If parents give in to a child’s demand to avoid a ruckus of sorts, the child will definitely get more demanding.
3. Model the child with a communication pattern that would make the child talk always with respect and discipline. Do not have double standards or even talk rudely to a child. Talking rudely to a child teaches him rude behavior.
4. A parent must express their love, empathy for their child when the child gets demanding. Just look into their eyes gazing .. and make them accept your situation through love.
5. Let children face every situation by themselves. Getting possessive about your child does not help and in return makes them annoy you more. Facing every situation will enable them to be more disciplined and less demanding.
6. Never ever attack the child but consciously draw attention to the child about his/her behavior. Making the child aware of his/her behavior may calm down the child .
7. When a child gets out-of-control, it is better to walk away from the situation rather than attend to the tantrums. During that period, let the child be in the hands of some elder person in the family or relatives. Not attending to the excessive tantrums can enable children to understand that there demands will not be met and gives them enough time to accept just that.
8. When a child throws-in a demand, give choices but do not accept the demand.
9. Let the child express their mind and other feelings even if it is a little more disturbing. Do not block their thoughts as it would make them become more disturbing than ever.
10. Talk and explain the child that you cannot meet their demands and why. Make sure your child understands your concerns.

It is very much essential for a parent to make a child laugh and, be a part of their child’s happiness and sadness all the time. The connection between the child and parent is what makes the relationship successful or fail in any way.