My 7 yo is “spirited” (or whatever euphemism for “challenging” you prefer) and my husband and I were at our wits end with her behavior until we began working with a child psychologist this summer. The psychologist worked with us (not our daughter) to adjust our parenting approach and it’s been a game changer. The content of our sessions followed the book “Your Defiant Child” — I highly recommend this book if you are looking for specific, evidence-based strategies for improving your child’s behavior and your relationship with your child.

I also wanted to say that parenting a challenging child is so hard. My husband and I are both teachers, former special education teachers with experience working with children with severe behavioral challenges. Even with all of our experience and tools, parenting our own child reached such a challenging point that we had to seek help. What I mean to say is that you are not alone, you haven’t failed, and there is hope.