| Credit: Priscilla Gragg
A woman I counseled named Claire came to me because she was going through a hard time with her son, Daniel. Within minutes of entering a room, the 7-year-old would break or spill something. Claire trailed after him, warning him to slow down. When disaster struck, she yelled at him and sent him for a time-out, which he sometimes agreed to take. It seems like he s running rampant just to piss me off, she said. She registered only the disobedience. My son loves to give me a hard time. My worst fear is that he s always going to be like this.