Which Battles Do You Pick W/Your Kids?

[MDogg]

We've all heard the old saying.."PICK YOUR BATTLES" when it comes to parenting.

Sometimes I'm not sure what battles are worth fighting & which are not..for example:

1. Hubby insists our children finish everything on their plate..whether they say they are full or don't like it. I'm not willing to fight that battle..if they say they are full then they get nothing else till the next meal or if they say they don't like something I have them try it first, then if it's still not liked they don't have to eat it. BUT..I DO NOT fix them something different to eat if they choose not to eat what the rest of the family is.

2. Hubby insists children sit up straight on the couch while watching t.v. or movies. I don't mind if they lounge as long as they aren't aggravating each other. I think there are bigger battles to fight.

3. Our 5 1/2yo child is always messing with our 5mth old lab puppy which usually ends up with one or the other one yelping in pain. Either the pup gets all excited from running/playing and scratches or play nips child or child teases pup, pulls ears, tail, steps on a paw. I'm getting weary of constantly telling child to leave the dog alone..maybe this is one battle I should stop fighting and let the chips fall where they may (within reason, of course).

I'd like to hear from other parents about this subject..Which battles do you pick in your family and which do you think are not worth fighting?

[KayLady]

I'm with you on points 1 and 2. In fact, that is exactly how we do it in our house for meal times.
I'm not sure about # 3, we've never had an indoor dog, but we have a lab also and I've heard labs are real good with kids.

[moonemaiden]

I agree with you on points one and two. Another thing to remember, dealing with mealtime, is that forcing children to eat when they are full teaches children to ignore their own body signals concerning food. However, I have a daughter who will says she's full simply because she doesn't like what was put in front of her. So we have a household rule: You will eat everything on your plate, when you are hungry.
My daughter has had the same meal last 3 days once, because she didn't like it. I refuse to make something new if she still has food left-over from lunch an hour earlier. Of course all food is properly stored until it is ready to be eaten. This is the rule, there is no fighting, no pushing, it's simple.

We found we can generally avoid battles by giving in just a very tiny bit. My daughter hates to brush her teeth, so we let her choose if she brushes her teeth before we read to her or after. She still brushes her teeth in the end, but with much less fighting. We'll see if this same philosophy works for our son.

[racerfamily4@yahoo.com]

I am totally a pick and choose your battle mom. If not, then i would end up in a looney bin. I have those same issues at dinner time, and i do the same thing you do. My hubby does the same thing yours does. Here is what i tell my husband, " your not home all day long with the kids, I am. U see them 2 hours a day, and i am with them 24/7. I know what they are capable of because i am with them, u dont, so u dont get much of a say, unless u want to deal with the whining and crying". That shuts him up. LOL. The only things that i really enforce is anything that can cause bodily injury, being mean to each other or someone else, sharing and doing what they are told, depending on the situation of course. As far as discipline goes, i found these behavior pockets online. I followed there directions and, its the only form of discipline that i found that REALLY works! My kids are 70% better then what they were. They love these pockets and its not reward based either and they were really cheap. Check out the site disciplinemommy.com. Hope that helps