Parents and children in DOM/sub role

[Isabelle90]

Okay... I was beginning to think I was the sole voice with this opinion, that parenting is not about dominance. It's about guidance.

No matter if you "look" at it as dominance or not, in a parent/child relationship there must be a leader. My daughter calls me "the boss." Ultimately, she is too young and inexperienced to simply make every decision in her life. My hope is that as she gets older I can continue to relinquish control. Yes control. I control her diet, exercise, education, entertainment, etc. She is 3 years old and cannot make these decisions for herself right now. If left up to her, she would eat goldfish crackers and m&ms all day long while watching anything on television. I bet she'd even run with scissors!

It is utter nonsense to say that as parents we do not have some authority over our children when they are young. That would be completely irresponsible. As parents, we should set limits in order to teach our children. This does not make them submissive. We are simply trying to help them learn how to make good choices for themselves.

If I did not love my child, I would sit back and "watch" her grow. Thankfully, I do love her and am using all of my resources to guide her to adulthood. To say that all this effort will mean she and I will not disagree on occasion is folly. That's part of the learning process. She will test her boundaries, and I will adjust if it is in her best interest.