RULE 22

See things from their point of view

All children have a huge chip on their shoulder. They’re convinced that we take less notice of how they feel just because they’re kids. They reckon we ignore them, we disregard their feelings, we don’t care if our decisions upset them. And you know what? They’re absolutely right.

We all do it. Not all the time, of course, but too much of the time. I know I do, and I’ve never met a parent who didn’t. We tell ourselves (if we think about it at all) that we know what’s best for them and they don’t. Sometimes that’s true, but not always.

Up to a point this is unavoidable. I mean, most kids will always want to go to bed later than is good for them. They’ll usually want to live exclusively on ice cream ...

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