The following question came to me in an email: “In the morning (6:30 AM) our child does not want to get up! He whines and complains and is very grouchy, even though he went to bed on time the night before (8:00 PM). After being called 5 or 6 times he finally gets out of bed and then starts picking fights with the other kids!” About a week after I got this email, we had the same exact situation in our house with an 8 year old foster daughter. I had to wake her up several times each morning. One morning I woke her up and when I checked 10…

Last time we talked about the importance of “First Time Obedience,” and we began a list of tips for parents to help develop the habit of first time obedience. Here is a quick review of the first four tips and a description of four more … 1. Use a positive tone of voice. A positive tone of voice lets children know you respect them. 2. Give lead time, if possible. Give some advance notice that you are going to want something to happen soon. 3. If at all possible, give a choice. By saying to the child, “You can choose to do either this or that,” you empower the child…