You're not alone - many parents are feeling inadequately prepared as they face the changing needs of the family, parents and children. With words and strategies that no longer work you may have an increasingly angry child. Perhaps you are sharing this anger. The following ideas are just some thoughts to consider as we raise our children. Independence occurs when a child actually does some thinking for herself and considers consequences for she acts.
Rebellion takes no thinking at all.
In fact a rebellious kid checks out what someone else is doing and then makes decisions. This usually occurs with no regard for consequences. Once a parents knows what kind of child they're working with, problems can easily decrease because the parent can get the child to go right by asking her to go left. Still, the parents ends up the one doing most of the thinking. Thinking comes before independence and develops through practice.