Dealing With A Stubborn Toddlers

Child Psychologist Ian Wallace Reveals How To Deal With Headstrong Tots

- Ian Wallace

Not again! You’re simply trying to buckle your tot into his car seat – for his own safety, might you add – but are being met with an utter refusal to cooperate.

Your strong-willed toddler’s back is stiff and arched, his legs are flying, arms flailing, and from his mouth is coming a piercing scream. Where did this behaviour come from?!

Some children are this way right from the very start. They’re just born excitable, alert and stubborn – usually when it comes to things such as sitting down for lunch, staying still for nappy-change time and going down quietly for a daytime nap.

However, this isn’t the case for most toddlers. That’s the good news. The bad news for parents, however, is that, at some stage, nearly every toddler develops a stubborn streak. It’s entirely normal once kids become aware of the world around them and somewhat mobile – toddlers are naturally curious to explore. Protective parents, though, are naturally inclined to want to fence them in.