Discipline - How Parents Reinforce Misbehavior

Have you ever witnessed a parent reinforcing misbehavior? How would you feel if a parent giggled when her child spoke rudely to you? Would you wonder if that parent had a screw loose? It happened to me.
Case in point, I remember a mother and her 10-year-old daughter's first counseling session. I had never met them before. The daughter glared at me and yelled, "I'm going to kill you!" For once, I was speechless.
In my 22 years of family counseling, no child had ever threatened me or yelled at me. Her mother's response shocked me even more. She giggled. That's right. She giggled. This girl had just crossed the line from respect to disrespect. So did her mother's giggles.
Listen. Being positive is good. Being too positive is looney. Why would any parent choo View the rest of this article