Stubbornness is a common trait among children. Shocking right? Kids are figuring out the world, which means they love to test boundaries. And with the selfishness inherent to childhood comes a desire to get what they want when they want it, and dig in their heels when parents don’t give in. In addition to this baseline stubbornness every kid has, parents can unwittingly make matters worse with how they respond to their kids when they refuse to budge, as well as modeling inflexibility in their own lives. It happens to the best of us. But with a few tweaks and a little empathy, it’s possible to raise a child who’s less likely to engage you in (so many) power struggles.