Research shows strong-willed children
grow up to make some of the best entrepre-
neurs, innovators and leaders because of the
very quality that makes it difficult to parent
them: they disrupt and challenge the norm.
So how do you nurture these amazing qual-
ities without breaking their spirit? It may
be important to first understand the inner
workings of a strong-willed child. Strong-
willed children are guided by a strong sense
of integrity. When you’re young, this moral
compass often seems excessive. It may not
make sense to us why socks have to be put
on a certain way or why a child has to face
a particular window while eating their ce-
real. This stubborn streak can be viewed
as defiance for the sake of defiance. But for
strong-willed children, they are merely ad-
hering to their own moral code. And they
will often put their desire to be right above
all else.
So it should come as no surprise that they
hate being told what to do. Strong-willed
children would much rather learn for them-
selves, or to at least understand the reason
for doing something instead of blindly ac-
quiescing to it. This is also why they seem
to constantly test boundaries. They also
want desperately to have autonomy and be
in control of their own domain. So yes, they
can prove to be a handful!
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