On Children Listening to Parents Immediately and Phone Use
Question: My child does not listen to me the first time I say something. What can I do?
Discipline with any child begins with knowing the child. Is she distracted, which is why she doesn’t listen the first time? Is he ignoring you? Set down some rules and consequences for not obeying (make sure they are consequences you can enforce), and then stay consistent. Make sure your spouse agrees and stays consistent as well. My wife and I would give a warning. Our children knew that in a few minutes we would come back to tell them to do something. That helped them prepare to stop what they were doing and obey. —PH
Question: How can I get my teenage child off her phone?
Explain why you do not want her on the phone as much as she does. You are the parent and have the authority; explain that you want to set a limit. Discuss the limit and how you and she can enforce it. Set a timer. If she does not respect the limit, narrow it to a shorter timeframe and tell her that when she learns to respect the limit you have set, she can move back to the longer timeframe. And, of course, teenagers lived a long time without cell phones! You can completely remove it from her possession if you need to! —PH
Published in Christian Family 11.2 (2026): 16.
