If you’re talking and no one is listening, you might be a parent. Maybe your voice becomes louder with each successive ‘time for bed’ announcement. You’re at the point of shouting after your daughter ignores your third warning. She continues to play, with toys scattered about the floor. She has tuned you out. She has made it a nightly habit to push her limits for bedtime. This has become a battle of wills, and she is winning.
This kind of behavior is no surprise. She has been watching, listening, and learning from the first day of her life. She knows you’ll have to get to the frustration point and make some empty threats before she has to stop and go to bed. She’s only playing the game by the rules as she knows them.
This is a problem that will only get worse as the child gets older. It’s up to mom and dad to learn a better way of parenting.