Parenting the strong-willed child: You’re not alone

I am pretty sure that, until my third child was born, I didn’t fully understand the challenges parenting can present — challenges that have nothing to do with the number of kids I have but with the personality of this strong-willed child.
I would have said parenting is hard — physically, emotionally, and mentally exhausting. But I usually got my kids to do what I wanted them to do with little resistance. When I heard someone talk about how nothing was working with their child, I blew it off thinking that they just needed a new strategy or more consistent consequences.
Then Levi became a toddler and my thoughts on parenting have never been the same.
If you have a strong-willed child, you know what I am talking about. If you are not sure you have a strong-willed child, you probably don’t. Trust me, you know if you have one.
This boy has single-handedly humbled me more as a parent than anything else ever has. He pushed me far passed my limits, and still does almost every day.
I have a passion for talking about parenting strong-willed kids because it is so different from parenting my other kids. I want moms of strong-willed kids to be encouraged and know they are not alone.
I have struggled to write on this topic because I want to be careful about how I represent Levi. It may be my parenting story, but it is his story as well. That being said, it is an important story to tell so I will do my best to find a balance.
I plan to write more about my experience parenting a strong-willed child, but in the meantime, I want everyone out there to know you are not alone. Even if it doesn’t get easier, it will all be worth it, because these strong-willed kids of ours are going to change the world around them someday. They will have the tenacity and commitment to do amazing things.
Yes!!!
Thanks for this post and encouragement! I can totally relate. They truly will change the world 🙂