Tips to Deal with a Defiant Child?

“Can you please give tips on how to deal with a defiant child? I’m at the end of my dang rope.” 

I do not know how old your child is or in what ways he is defiant but here is some information that hopefully you will find helpful.  

If your child is a toddler, it is normal (and even good) for your toddler to be saying ‘no’ to everything. Your child is saying ‘no’ to everything because he is becoming his own person, with his own opinions and thoughts. He is learning that he is not an extension of you. Your toddler has found out that he has a will, and he is using it.   

These are some tips that may help you: 

Here are some tips you may find useful:  

• Offer him some choices: in the same way that they say ‘no’ to us, we also say ‘no’ to our toddlers all the time. So, when possible and within reason: let them choose (e.g., “Do you want a banana or an apple?”; “Do you want the red or the blue pyjamas?”). This strategy can save you a few ‘nos’.   

• I know it is difficult,  but try not to give him a big reaction when he says ‘no’.   

• Let him help you: toddlers usually love to help their parents. Let him help at the supermarket, cleaning or cooking (and yes, you will need patience to do this as well).   

• Try to distract him and to make him laugh when he says ‘no’. This usually works really well and saves you from having another power struggle.   

• Keep a consistent routine and structure. Knowing what is coming next and ‘where they stand’ usually helps kids.  

• Remember that this phase will finish. It won’t last forever! 

Sometimes, this phase is saying ‘no’ gets more complicated and children develop Oppositional defiant disorder (ODD), a type of disruptive behaviour disorder that involves difficulties managing emotions and behaviours. Symptoms begin before the age of 8 and almost always before the early teen years.   

Because all children are challenging at time, it is sometimes difficult to recognize the difference between a strong-willed child and one with ODD.  Children with ODD are very often angry, irritable, and defiant towards parents and other authority figures. They often show a behaviour called vindictiveness, which includes being spiteful and seeking revengeful. For some children, symptoms may happen only at home but with time, they may also appear in other settings, such as school or with friends. Children with ODD tend to have problems with relationships, school, and peers.   

If you are worried your child may have ODD, seek help from a child psychologist or child psychiatrist with expertise in this area. Treatment usually involves: Parent management training (PMT), talk therapy, and school-based interventions.   

I hope you find this information useful. If you want to have a session with me to discuss it further, do get in touch with me. 

In these articles you will find more information that may be useful: 

I Think I have a Defiant 3-Year-Old 

Why my Toddler Says No to Everything? 

What Is Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder?  

I wish you and your child all the very best.

Love,  

Ana 

Dr Ana Aznar