Child wants to "punish" parents

Dear parent,

Yes, you can play a power game with your son. At the same time, it is important to find the source of his need to control in this manner and relieve the cause. He must have been exposed to the idea and anxious about it. To fully relieve the anxiety, help him speak about it, or if he is not yet able to articulate, ask anyway, as a way fo validating. In this way the power game will be more healing. Talk about it at another calm time, and not at the moment he is into the game.

Explore where this trend comes from. A friend? A movie? Relatives? A story? In addition, I wonder if you gave him the message that he has power over you or others. It is important to distinguish between giving the child autonomy, i.e. power over himself, and acting in a way that gives him power over others. Many loving parents seem to confuse the two. The child is then believing that what you do with yourself is up to him. Having power over others is too much for a child (or for an adult.) Therefore, power games that are clearly, “a game” are wonderful, but at the same time, own yourself clearly. Be kind about providing for what your child needs, but the need must be about himself.

Warmly, http://authenticparent.com/index.html