As a parent, I've tried to look for those teaching moments throughout both my sons' lives. The older they have become, the tougher it is to impart any advice, or nudge them in a better direction. The upside is, that if you keep at it, and alter your delivery style, they often become receptive - and messy arguments and attitudes are avoided.
The thing is, each of my sons (rightly so) are completely different individuals. That means they don't respond to what I'm trying to say in the same way; hence my delivery and word choice needs to be tailored to them. Add to that the challenge of not allowing myself to get frustrated, or bossy (as I am quite prone to doing), and I've got my parenting work cut out for me.
Of course, having the boys I have, it isn't the uphill climb it could be. They might resist, and block out what I'm trying to say to them at first, but they usually come around - and often fairly quickly. Time and again I can't help but stop to appreciate how fortunate I am. My success thus far is in large part to the willing responsiveness of my sons. I can't say that they make parenting easy, but I know it could be so much harder. I'll deal with a little challenging frustration now and again, if it means each of them will eventually listen, and be open to learning.
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