September 4, 2025 • 15 mins
In this episode, I answer follow-up questions from a listener named Brianna about managing challenging behaviors with her 9-year-old daughter. We talk about how to handle situations where kids refuse to make choices, how to give choices effectively without creating power struggles, and how to respond when children act out as a way to regain control. I also touch on common issues like initiating fights, boredom-related misbehavior on road trips, and emotional reactions in friendships.
If you’ve ever struggled with giving your child power in healthy ways, especially during tense moments, this episode offers practical tools to help. You’ll learn specific phrases to use, the importance of offering choices proactively (not just during discipline), and how to set calm, neutral limits that lead to more cooperation and less conflict.
Ask Me Questions: Call (813) 812-5525, or email: brenna@thekidcounselor.com
My Book: Device Detox: A Parent's Guide To Reducing Usage, Preventing Tantrums, And Raising Happier Kids - https://a.co/d/bThnKH9
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My Podcast Partner, Gabb Wireless: https://www.playtherapyparenting.com/gabb/
Common References:
Landreth, G.L. (2023). Play Therapy: The Art of the Relationship (4th ed.). Routledge.
Bratton, S. C., Landreth, G. L., Kellam, T., & Blackard, S. R. (2006). Child parent relationship therapy (CPRT) treatment manual: A 10-session filial therapy model for training parents. Routledge/Taylor & Francis Group.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:02):
You're listening to the
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks.
Hi,
I'm Dr. Brenna Hicks,
The Kid Counselor.
This is the Play Therapy Parenting Podcast where I give you insight,
awareness,
and enlightenment about your parenting
and your relationship with your kids.
In today's episode,
I am answering a follow-up question from Brianna.
(00:24):
I answered the question.
In a recent episode,
and then she listened to the episode and emailed some follow up questions,
so I want to circle around to that and,
and answer the additional questions
before we get into that,
I want to let you all know
that
as of next episode,
we are introducing a season 3.
(00:44):
And we're going to go back to a little bit more of curriculum-based teaching
episodes.
And we will still take questions,
and I will still answer questions in a 2nd episode each week.
If you all want me to answer something or process something,
absolutely,
please still send that in brenna@thekidcounselor.com.
(01:05):
However,
we're going to go through.
The things that you need to be aware of.
While your child is processing things
through child-centered play therapy.
And I know some of you may not necessarily have
your children in child-centered play therapy at this point.
I know many of you do.
And I know many of your play therapists have
(01:26):
recommended this podcast to you and so either way
this will be helpful because this is going to
be things that will help you understand your children.
It will help you understand the way that children's brains operate.
It will help you understand their process of working through things.
It will help give you some strategies and
tools to better communicate and relate to them.
So I do think it will be universally helpful,
(01:46):
but it will be specifically
how
you need to see.
Your child's process of working through
the therapeutic journey with a play therapist
in light of understanding them developmentally and what's going on for them,
how you can better communicate,
etc.
So that's going to be starting next episode.
(02:06):
I'm very excited about that.
But circling back to Brianna's question,
I'm going to
read some of her email and then we'll dive in.
We're making efforts to offer choices.
I understand that you mentioned it would be a time consuming process.
However,
the children suggest opting for nothing,
and we respond by saying that if they don't make a choice,
we will step in.
(02:27):
And then the situation continues to escalate.
OK,
let me pause there because there's more,
but let's stop there and and we'll tackle that first.
All right,
so the beauty of choice giving
is that when a child
suggests,
as you say,
opting for nothing,
that is also a choice.
Now you said we respond by saying if they don't make a choice we will step in.
(02:49):
That's a threat,
and I'm not saying that you necessarily threatened them in the moment,
but I just want to make it really clear words matter and our language matters.
Our phrase matters.
So the phrase
to be fully child-centered
and your parenting approach.
I
you really would like to choose neither,
(03:09):
but that's not part of the choice.
The choices are you can choose option A or you can choose option B,
which do you choose?
So notice that we reflected the fact that the child does not
want to make a choice or they wish they could make,
they wish they could make neither choice.
So we validate that.
They're not wrong for not liking the options,
so we're going to acknowledge that,
(03:30):
and then we fall back on the choice,
but that's not part of the choice.
The choices are,
and you reiterate that.
You're gonna go through that 3 times.
That is usually enough for a child to realize you're not conceding.
And they are going to be limited to option A and option B.
If that does not get them to the ability where they can make a choice.
(03:52):
Then you're going to use this phrase.
You really don't want to choose,
but if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
Let me say that again cause it's choosy.
You really don't want to choose,
but if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
And here is what that communicates.
(04:15):
The choice is the choice.
There will be no deviation from that.
And if you choose not to choose,
that is also a choice.
See,
the child thinks that they're,
they're not making the choice.
They think they're skirting the choice.
Well,
I don't want either one of those,
so I'm not going to pick either one.
That's
child logic because they're not rational.
(04:35):
So I'm just not going to pick one of those and then I'm not making a choice.
Well,
choosing not to choose is a choice.
And your phrase is going to be,
you really would like to not choose,
or you wish you could choose neither.
But if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
And then you're going to choose
for the child
(04:56):
if they choose not to choose.
And
what they learn very quickly is it's better for them
to have a choice than not have a choice.
See,
they,
they think they're getting some power back
by refusing to decide.
But really what they're doing is giving their
power away because making a choice is power.
(05:16):
And it's going to help them understand that you're giving them a measure of power
by giving them the choice.
And when you choose for them,
they have no power.
And that is very convincing
for them learning that when they're given a choice,
they can choose from the options.
All right,
so that's how to address that part.
(05:37):
Let me continue with the email.
My 9 year old tends to initiate fights with
someone every time things don't go her way,
doing or saying something she knows will be disliked.
I need guidance on addressing this behavior.
We are trying to allocate 15 minutes to nurture a more positive relationship.
OK,
so that's a huge
component right there.
We want to make sure that we're dedicating one on one time
(06:00):
each week
with each of our children.
So I'm so happy to hear that you're giving that 15 minutes
for the positive relationship.
Make sure that she knows
she gets to decide what you do.
She gets to spend that time how she chooses,
and it's unconditionally accepting.
There are no rules,
there are no expectations.
Limits are needed if they're needed,
(06:21):
but it's only for safety and making sure things aren't getting damaged or broken.
So the goal is
that
you are unconditionally loving and accepting of her in those 15 minutes.
That will naturally
help her to start behaving in more self-enhancing ways.
However,
if she initiates fights every time things don't go her way
(06:42):
and she's doing things that she knows are going to be disliked,
that's a power grab.
We recognize that for what it is,
it's power and control need.
She feels that things are out of her control and she doesn't have power,
so she's grasping where she thinks that she can take it.
And that's why choices are so important.
You want to continually provide her with choices
(07:05):
so that she is able to feel a measure of control.
It's also really important
that the choices are mutually agreeable.
And it's also just for the sake of being given a choice.
So,
I don't know what your daughter's name.
I'm gonna say Jill.
So,
Jill,
you can choose for us to have broccoli tonight for dinner or
(07:25):
you can choose for us to have green beans tonight for dinner.
Which do you choose?
Assuming she likes both of those vegetables,
do not give a choice for something that a child does not like,
that's not a choice.
So if she likes both of those vegetables,
you're giving her an opportunity to make a choice.
It has to be a positive context.
It has to be something that she likes.
Choices cannot always be tied to limits.
(07:48):
Choices also need to be for empowerment,
so it's really important that as often as possible you're giving choices,
and
when she does or says something that she knows will be disliked,
she is trying to gain power over that person or that situation.
Now,
if it needs a limit,
then absolutely set a limit,
(08:09):
but otherwise you can just acknowledge what she did.
You chose to say something and you knew that that would
irritate that person,
or you chose to do that and you knew that they wouldn't like that.
And what you're doing is saying out loud that she's making a choice.
And over time,
she will start to choose to behave in more self enhancing ways.
(08:32):
OK,
so then continuing with the email,
we're making a conscious effort to avoid yelling and remaining calm.
If her friend invites her to play,
she may initially agree,
but then becomes demanding,
leading to a rapid escalation of the situation.
Is it normal for a nine year old to be preoccupied with their friend's whereabouts,
as evidenced by her constant inquiries during our camping trip
(08:52):
and tendency to follow her friend around despite being rebuffed?
Well,
yes,
for a child that has to have power and control.
Because the not knowing feels completely powerless.
The unknown is overwhelming for a child that wants control.
So,
of course,
I want to,
(09:13):
I want things to be my way.
I want to know exactly what's going on.
I want to follow someone around.
It makes her feel that she has a measure of control.
Because if she doesn't know,
if she is unaware,
if something is outside of her knowledge,
she then
is at the mercy of whatever that may be.
(09:34):
The grasping at power and controls extending into relationships as well.
This is why we need to give choices as much as possible.
When I comment on this behavior,
she dismisses me saying,
Mom,
stop,
I'm fine.
It's worth noting that she can be very helpful when in a good mood,
highlighting her capacity for positive behavior.
I suspect that boredom contributes to her propensity to fight with her sister.
(09:56):
How can I best address this issue,
which consistently arises during car travel and vacations?
From a very long time ago episode,
I talked about when kids are in a compromised state,
tired,
hungry,
or bored,
they are less likely to be able to behave in appropriate ways.
So absolutely,
I suspect being bored
will contribute being tired or being hungry will also contribute.
(10:19):
Feeling powerless in this case will also contribute.
So,
therefore,
you're going to want to proactively set yourself up for success as well as her.
What are things you can
Pack ahead of time,
plan ahead of time,
that will go in the car with you all,
so that she has things to do,
so that she has things that she enjoys,
(10:41):
so that there are opportunities for her to
do something
instead of getting bored.
And this ideally is not going to be electronic in nature.
You know,
there,
I mean,
OG,
like when I was growing up,
we
would find the letters of the alphabet in order from billboards.
(11:01):
That doesn't require any planning ahead of time.
We would play the license plate game
where you had to find as many other state license plates
as you could while you drive and you keep track.
That requires no packing and planning.
However,
there are
car ride games that have been created now.
I know for example,
Melissa and Doug
has a license plate game board and you flip the state over as you find it.
(11:24):
So that you're able to keep track of the
states that you have seen on the license plates.
They have,
I don't know if it's Melissa and Doug,
but they also have an alphabet game where you flip
it over when you find the letters on the billboards.
You can
find certain colors of cars.
You can play car bingo.
There are all kinds of things
that give her something to do.
(11:46):
That keep her engaged
so that it's not just boredom fighting.
Now there's also books,
there's coloring,
there's all kinds of other things that she can bring with her
so that she's able to stay busy
and not feel like there's nothing to do but
get into irritating,
aggravating kind of scenarios with her sister.
However,
(12:07):
there needs to be a limit associated with that kind of behavior.
So
girls.
When you choose to fight in the backseat of the car,
you choose negative consequence.
When you choose not to fight in the backseat of the car,
you choose positive consequence.
Now that might be
when you get to where you're going.
They aren't able to
(12:29):
do the bonfire that night at the campground or they're not able to stay up.
They have to go to bed early because they've chosen to fight.
What's going to matter to them,
that's going to be the currency there.
So when you choose to behave in appropriate ways,
there's a positive outcome associated with it.
When you choose to behave in negative ways,
there's a negative outcome associated with it.
(12:51):
You say this completely calmly.
You say this neutrally,
you say this factually.
Let me be really clear,
because this is easy to get ourselves in this situation.
We don't go.
If you guys fight in the car when we get to the campground,
you are not being,
you're not gonna be able to be at the fire.
That's a threat.
It's not neutral.
(13:12):
It's not
child-centered.
And we have completely lost the sense of
you are now being given a choice and therefore you are choosing the outcome.
Girls,
when you choose to fight in the backseat,
you choose not to have
the bonfire tonight at the campground.
If you choose not to fight in the backseat,
(13:34):
you choose to have the bonfire tonight at the campground.
And what will eventually happen is.
They start to correct each other.
They start to help each other.
Stop.
If you do that,
we're gonna choose not to have the bonfire tonight.
That's exactly what we're looking for is that they support each other
(13:55):
and they help each other
to comply with limits
because it matters for both of them.
It takes two to fight.
My mom used to say that when I was little and it used
to drive me nuts because my brother would inevitably be tormenting me,
not that I ever had anything to do with it,
I'm sure,
but
my brother would be,
in my perspective,
tormenting me
and then my mom would say,
it takes two to fight and it takes 2 to get along.
(14:18):
And I always was like,
oh my gosh,
being an oldest,
you know.
But
the point of that is,
they can choose to get along collectively or they can choose to fight collectively.
It is very much a collaborative decision,
and so they will start to self-correct each other,
which is exactly what you want because you don't want to be the one nagging them,
(14:39):
telling them to stop fighting.
So Brianna,
I hope that that is helpful.
You kind of gave me a whole bunch of
different questions as a result of the earlier episodes,
so I'm grateful that you emailed again,
and I'm hopeful that that is helpful to each of you because very common scenarios,
we all deal with
situations
like you described,
so I appreciate the email.
(15:00):
As always,
please email me if you would like me to answer a question for you,
brenna@thekidcounselor.com and as I mentioned,
we're going to be going into curriculum
and specific teaching type of podcasts
in the near future.
So next episode we will begin with that series for a new season.
All right,
I appreciate y'all so much.
Have a great week.
(15:20):
Bye.
Thank you for listening to
the Play Therapy Parenting Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks.
For more episodes and just subscribe to our newsletter,
please go to www.playtherapyparenting.com.
You're listening to the
Play Therapy Parenting Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks.
Hi,
I'm Dr. Brenna Hicks,
The Kid Counselor.
This is the Play Therapy Parenting Podcast where I give you insight,
awareness,
and enlightenment about your parenting
and your relationship with your kids.
In today's episode,
I am answering a follow-up question from Brianna.
(00:24):
I answered the question.
In a recent episode,
and then she listened to the episode and emailed some follow up questions,
so I want to circle around to that and,
and answer the additional questions
before we get into that,
I want to let you all know
that
as of next episode,
we are introducing a season 3.
(00:44):
And we're going to go back to a little bit more of curriculum-based teaching
episodes.
And we will still take questions,
and I will still answer questions in a 2nd episode each week.
If you all want me to answer something or process something,
absolutely,
please still send that in brenna@thekidcounselor.com.
(01:05):
However,
we're going to go through.
The things that you need to be aware of.
While your child is processing things
through child-centered play therapy.
And I know some of you may not necessarily have
your children in child-centered play therapy at this point.
I know many of you do.
And I know many of your play therapists have
(01:26):
recommended this podcast to you and so either way
this will be helpful because this is going to
be things that will help you understand your children.
It will help you understand the way that children's brains operate.
It will help you understand their process of working through things.
It will help give you some strategies and
tools to better communicate and relate to them.
So I do think it will be universally helpful,
(01:46):
but it will be specifically
how
you need to see.
Your child's process of working through
the therapeutic journey with a play therapist
in light of understanding them developmentally and what's going on for them,
how you can better communicate,
etc.
So that's going to be starting next episode.
(02:06):
I'm very excited about that.
But circling back to Brianna's question,
I'm going to
read some of her email and then we'll dive in.
We're making efforts to offer choices.
I understand that you mentioned it would be a time consuming process.
However,
the children suggest opting for nothing,
and we respond by saying that if they don't make a choice,
we will step in.
(02:27):
And then the situation continues to escalate.
OK,
let me pause there because there's more,
but let's stop there and and we'll tackle that first.
All right,
so the beauty of choice giving
is that when a child
suggests,
as you say,
opting for nothing,
that is also a choice.
Now you said we respond by saying if they don't make a choice we will step in.
(02:49):
That's a threat,
and I'm not saying that you necessarily threatened them in the moment,
but I just want to make it really clear words matter and our language matters.
Our phrase matters.
So the phrase
to be fully child-centered
and your parenting approach.
I
you really would like to choose neither,
(03:09):
but that's not part of the choice.
The choices are you can choose option A or you can choose option B,
which do you choose?
So notice that we reflected the fact that the child does not
want to make a choice or they wish they could make,
they wish they could make neither choice.
So we validate that.
They're not wrong for not liking the options,
so we're going to acknowledge that,
(03:30):
and then we fall back on the choice,
but that's not part of the choice.
The choices are,
and you reiterate that.
You're gonna go through that 3 times.
That is usually enough for a child to realize you're not conceding.
And they are going to be limited to option A and option B.
If that does not get them to the ability where they can make a choice.
(03:52):
Then you're going to use this phrase.
You really don't want to choose,
but if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
Let me say that again cause it's choosy.
You really don't want to choose,
but if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
And here is what that communicates.
(04:15):
The choice is the choice.
There will be no deviation from that.
And if you choose not to choose,
that is also a choice.
See,
the child thinks that they're,
they're not making the choice.
They think they're skirting the choice.
Well,
I don't want either one of those,
so I'm not going to pick either one.
That's
child logic because they're not rational.
(04:35):
So I'm just not going to pick one of those and then I'm not making a choice.
Well,
choosing not to choose is a choice.
And your phrase is going to be,
you really would like to not choose,
or you wish you could choose neither.
But if you choose not to choose,
you choose for me to choose for you.
And then you're going to choose
for the child
(04:56):
if they choose not to choose.
And
what they learn very quickly is it's better for them
to have a choice than not have a choice.
See,
they,
they think they're getting some power back
by refusing to decide.
But really what they're doing is giving their
power away because making a choice is power.
(05:16):
And it's going to help them understand that you're giving them a measure of power
by giving them the choice.
And when you choose for them,
they have no power.
And that is very convincing
for them learning that when they're given a choice,
they can choose from the options.
All right,
so that's how to address that part.
(05:37):
Let me continue with the email.
My 9 year old tends to initiate fights with
someone every time things don't go her way,
doing or saying something she knows will be disliked.
I need guidance on addressing this behavior.
We are trying to allocate 15 minutes to nurture a more positive relationship.
OK,
so that's a huge
component right there.
We want to make sure that we're dedicating one on one time
(06:00):
each week
with each of our children.
So I'm so happy to hear that you're giving that 15 minutes
for the positive relationship.
Make sure that she knows
she gets to decide what you do.
She gets to spend that time how she chooses,
and it's unconditionally accepting.
There are no rules,
there are no expectations.
Limits are needed if they're needed,
(06:21):
but it's only for safety and making sure things aren't getting damaged or broken.
So the goal is
that
you are unconditionally loving and accepting of her in those 15 minutes.
That will naturally
help her to start behaving in more self-enhancing ways.
However,
if she initiates fights every time things don't go her way
(06:42):
and she's doing things that she knows are going to be disliked,
that's a power grab.
We recognize that for what it is,
it's power and control need.
She feels that things are out of her control and she doesn't have power,
so she's grasping where she thinks that she can take it.
And that's why choices are so important.
You want to continually provide her with choices
(07:05):
so that she is able to feel a measure of control.
It's also really important
that the choices are mutually agreeable.
And it's also just for the sake of being given a choice.
So,
I don't know what your daughter's name.
I'm gonna say Jill.
So,
Jill,
you can choose for us to have broccoli tonight for dinner or
(07:25):
you can choose for us to have green beans tonight for dinner.
Which do you choose?
Assuming she likes both of those vegetables,
do not give a choice for something that a child does not like,
that's not a choice.
So if she likes both of those vegetables,
you're giving her an opportunity to make a choice.
It has to be a positive context.
It has to be something that she likes.
Choices cannot always be tied to limits.
(07:48):
Choices also need to be for empowerment,
so it's really important that as often as possible you're giving choices,
and
when she does or says something that she knows will be disliked,
she is trying to gain power over that person or that situation.
Now,
if it needs a limit,
then absolutely set a limit,
(08:09):
but otherwise you can just acknowledge what she did.
You chose to say something and you knew that that would
irritate that person,
or you chose to do that and you knew that they wouldn't like that.
And what you're doing is saying out loud that she's making a choice.
And over time,
she will start to choose to behave in more self enhancing ways.
(08:32):
OK,
so then continuing with the email,
we're making a conscious effort to avoid yelling and remaining calm.
If her friend invites her to play,
she may initially agree,
but then becomes demanding,
leading to a rapid escalation of the situation.
Is it normal for a nine year old to be preoccupied with their friend's whereabouts,
as evidenced by her constant inquiries during our camping trip
(08:52):
and tendency to follow her friend around despite being rebuffed?
Well,
yes,
for a child that has to have power and control.
Because the not knowing feels completely powerless.
The unknown is overwhelming for a child that wants control.
So,
of course,
I want to,
(09:13):
I want things to be my way.
I want to know exactly what's going on.
I want to follow someone around.
It makes her feel that she has a measure of control.
Because if she doesn't know,
if she is unaware,
if something is outside of her knowledge,
she then
is at the mercy of whatever that may be.
(09:34):
The grasping at power and controls extending into relationships as well.
This is why we need to give choices as much as possible.
When I comment on this behavior,
she dismisses me saying,
Mom,
stop,
I'm fine.
It's worth noting that she can be very helpful when in a good mood,
highlighting her capacity for positive behavior.
I suspect that boredom contributes to her propensity to fight with her sister.
(09:56):
How can I best address this issue,
which consistently arises during car travel and vacations?
From a very long time ago episode,
I talked about when kids are in a compromised state,
tired,
hungry,
or bored,
they are less likely to be able to behave in appropriate ways.
So absolutely,
I suspect being bored
will contribute being tired or being hungry will also contribute.
(10:19):
Feeling powerless in this case will also contribute.
So,
therefore,
you're going to want to proactively set yourself up for success as well as her.
What are things you can
Pack ahead of time,
plan ahead of time,
that will go in the car with you all,
so that she has things to do,
so that she has things that she enjoys,
(10:41):
so that there are opportunities for her to
do something
instead of getting bored.
And this ideally is not going to be electronic in nature.
You know,
there,
I mean,
OG,
like when I was growing up,
we
would find the letters of the alphabet in order from billboards.
(11:01):
That doesn't require any planning ahead of time.
We would play the license plate game
where you had to find as many other state license plates
as you could while you drive and you keep track.
That requires no packing and planning.
However,
there are
car ride games that have been created now.
I know for example,
Melissa and Doug
has a license plate game board and you flip the state over as you find it.
(11:24):
So that you're able to keep track of the
states that you have seen on the license plates.
They have,
I don't know if it's Melissa and Doug,
but they also have an alphabet game where you flip
it over when you find the letters on the billboards.
You can
find certain colors of cars.
You can play car bingo.
There are all kinds of things
that give her something to do.
(11:46):
That keep her engaged
so that it's not just boredom fighting.
Now there's also books,
there's coloring,
there's all kinds of other things that she can bring with her
so that she's able to stay busy
and not feel like there's nothing to do but
get into irritating,
aggravating kind of scenarios with her sister.
However,
(12:07):
there needs to be a limit associated with that kind of behavior.
So
girls.
When you choose to fight in the backseat of the car,
you choose negative consequence.
When you choose not to fight in the backseat of the car,
you choose positive consequence.
Now that might be
when you get to where you're going.
They aren't able to
(12:29):
do the bonfire that night at the campground or they're not able to stay up.
They have to go to bed early because they've chosen to fight.
What's going to matter to them,
that's going to be the currency there.
So when you choose to behave in appropriate ways,
there's a positive outcome associated with it.
When you choose to behave in negative ways,
there's a negative outcome associated with it.
(12:51):
You say this completely calmly.
You say this neutrally,
you say this factually.
Let me be really clear,
because this is easy to get ourselves in this situation.
We don't go.
If you guys fight in the car when we get to the campground,
you are not being,
you're not gonna be able to be at the fire.
That's a threat.
It's not neutral.
(13:12):
It's not
child-centered.
And we have completely lost the sense of
you are now being given a choice and therefore you are choosing the outcome.
Girls,
when you choose to fight in the backseat,
you choose not to have
the bonfire tonight at the campground.
If you choose not to fight in the backseat,
(13:34):
you choose to have the bonfire tonight at the campground.
And what will eventually happen is.
They start to correct each other.
They start to help each other.
Stop.
If you do that,
we're gonna choose not to have the bonfire tonight.
That's exactly what we're looking for is that they support each other
(13:55):
and they help each other
to comply with limits
because it matters for both of them.
It takes two to fight.
My mom used to say that when I was little and it used
to drive me nuts because my brother would inevitably be tormenting me,
not that I ever had anything to do with it,
I'm sure,
but
my brother would be,
in my perspective,
tormenting me
and then my mom would say,
it takes two to fight and it takes 2 to get along.
(14:18):
And I always was like,
oh my gosh,
being an oldest,
you know.
But
the point of that is,
they can choose to get along collectively or they can choose to fight collectively.
It is very much a collaborative decision,
and so they will start to self-correct each other,
which is exactly what you want because you don't want to be the one nagging them,
(14:39):
telling them to stop fighting.
So Brianna,
I hope that that is helpful.
You kind of gave me a whole bunch of
different questions as a result of the earlier episodes,
so I'm grateful that you emailed again,
and I'm hopeful that that is helpful to each of you because very common scenarios,
we all deal with
situations
like you described,
so I appreciate the email.
(15:00):
As always,
please email me if you would like me to answer a question for you,
brenna@thekidcounselor.com and as I mentioned,
we're going to be going into curriculum
and specific teaching type of podcasts
in the near future.
So next episode we will begin with that series for a new season.
All right,
I appreciate y'all so much.
Have a great week.
(15:20):
Bye.
Thank you for listening to
the Play Therapy Parenting Podcast with Dr. Brenna Hicks.
For more episodes and just subscribe to our newsletter,
please go to www.playtherapyparenting.com.
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