It seems to me that one mistake parents make is being as obstinate as their children.  They need to be smarter than their children, more sophisticated and more subtle in how they wage, and win, their battles.  Calm perseverence and intelligent persuasion vs obstinacy will beat obstinacy vs obstinacy any day.

And you have to allow that sometimes you will lose the battle with your child, and that is ok.  They need victories too, you know.  The main thing is, no matter the fight, no matter the technique, never let them go for long believing you are against them. You always want to keep in mind that you are on their side, that you are their champion in life and you want them to know that.  It’s not an easy position to carve out consistently but over the course of a life it can be done.

Drawing and commentary by Marty Coleman of The Napkin Dad Daily

Quote by Henry Ward Beecher, 1813-1887, American abolitionist and Congregational clergy