Children, and athletes, thrive when they are given rules and structure. Of course, they also need loads of love, affection and attention. I am primarily a coach and strength trainer, but I love my 4 kids and I love spending time with them. It is challenging to be firm with children, and still feel like you are raising happy, well adjusted kids. Your child will only be able to manipulate you if you allow his or her behavior to be effective. The following are five signs your child is trying to manipulate a situation, and what you should do to regain control.

Kids will ask for the same thing over and over again. This is my oldest son’s favorite manipulation tactic. He knows I provided a response, but he didn’t like my answer so he asks again and acts like he didn’t hear my first answer the first time. It goes something like this:

Child, “Can we go to the park?”

Parent, “No, it’s too rainy out for the park today.”

Child, “Please, can we go to the park?”

Parent, “No, I already answered your question, and I am not changing my answer.”

Child, “Wait, what? Can we go to the park?”

Stay firm and don’t give in when they continue to make the same request. Call the child out for badgering when they continue to make a request for something that you already responded to, and let them know that you are not going to change the response so they can stop asking.

Once you have made a decision, don’t engage in an ongoing argument with a child to justify the decision. Once you have said, “no” there is nothing else that is going to matter to the child unless your response changes to, “yes!”. You can listen to a child who would like to express his or her argument, but do so without re-engaging in the matter being discussed. Be firm, and let the child know that you have made a decision, and no matter how long they continue to argue, the behavior is not going to be effective.

You ask a child to pick up an article of clothing they left on the floor. No response. You ask the child why they are using a whining tone of voice. No response. It doesn’t matter if the question was confrontational or not. Although he was clearly within earshot, my son will claim he didn't hear the request. The child is manipulating you if he chooses to not to respond. We often ask our oldest son to, “Please acknowledge that you heard the question”. Then request a response or action immediately.

Make sure the consequences match the behavior. The child should feel the consequence now rather than later. A child knows when his parent is bluffing. You are not going to take the iPad for a whole month, and you will probably allow him to eat ice cream after dinner (even if he doesn't finish his meal). So the child is going to continue to pester his younger sibling as long as he doesn’t believe he will suffer any consequences. If your child is misbehaving, and you want him or her to have consequences for the behavior, make sure the consequence is fitting and you are prepared to follow through quickly.

It is possible to gain compliance, especially from small children, with the promise of treats or sweets. Just be aware that your child is the one in control when you are offering a bribe. Why? Because they are getting a treat for doing something non-compliant. For example, you ask the child to get his shoes on. He doesn’t do what he is told (non-compliance). You offer a cookie if child puts his shoes on. The child follows directions and gets a cookie (manipulation).

There are no perfect parents, and no perfect parenting. Do your best to recognize these situations when your child is being manipulative. My kids were supposed to be getting ready for bed the other night and instead they ran over to my wife to get in some extra cuddles. She totally let them ignore my request and thats okay. I called her out for allowing the kids to manipulate her. She laughed. Cuddles from mom or dad might push bedtime back a few minutes, but sometimes the moment is more important than the rules.

At Garage Strength we train kids beginning around age 7-8. We know that sometimes they don't want to show up to train, but we try to keep things fun and exciting. We designed the in-home training plan for kids and families to do together. We want everyone to have access to the type of training we offer at Garage Strength because we know the huge impact fitness can have in the lives of young people AND adults.

We know you don't have a ton of time. It's an overwhelming commitment to start a fitness program. We know your kids don't want to do anything you ask them to do. So here's one way to get them involved ... don't make them do it. BUT don't allow for any other electronics during family fitness time. They can watch, or do nothing, but they need to be there and they can join if they want to. You might be surprised at how well this works to get kids moving. The program lasts 30 days. Some days you may just go for a walk together. The KEY is believing that doing something together is better than doing nothing. Identify those methods your kids are using to manipulate you and stick to the plan. Stay strong.

Does lifting actually stunt the growth of children?? Read the blog HERE to find out!