How to drop your end of a power struggle

Since your child is young and learning from everything around him, you need to make the first move to change the situation. How? You can back out of the power struggle by simply going silent for 10 to 60 seconds. It's that simple and that powerful.

The silence is not to be used as a punishment and it shouldn't go on for any longer than it takes for you to see your child calm down a little bit. As long as the silence isn't punitive, it quickly becomes more powerful than arguing. It sends the message, "I hear you and I'm no longer willing to argue with you."

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