THE FUSE

Every parent has been there, but the hope is not to live there. What I mean is that when emotions run high between parents and children, it's very tempting to focus on fixing the behavior. You know what I'm saying but just to spell it out some more, here are some examples of those ramped-up, straight-up power struggles: "You need to show more respect"; "You need to stop yelling at me and stop the arguing"; "Hey, I asked you to get off that screen; you need to listen because I'm not gonna ask you again"; "You have been doing nothing for so long; you need to apply for a job."