Stop rolling your eyes at me!

It makes a lot of parents' blood boil when their children roll their eyes at them. This can lead to yelling "Stop rolling your eyes at me!" Does this command work? Not usually - instead a small smirk may accompany the eye rolling.

When we give our children orders like this, we set ourselves up for a fight because they ultimately control their eyes, not us! It's far better to tell them what we will do:

• "I'll be happy to talk to you just as soon as you are looking at be with respect."
• "When you roll your eyes at me, it really saps my energy. I'm going to lay down and read for awhile to regain my energy.  I'll work on making dinner after I'm feeling better."

Tell them what you are going to do and then do it!