Rules - Relationship = Rebellion

Yup, it's that obvious - when you impose rules on your children, without it coming from a loving relationship with them, it will most certainly lead to rebellion.  Children need to know that the rules or boundaries have been made for their benefit, not just to be cruel, but for a reason they are too young to fully understand yet.  Like, for example, bed-time... When your child says that we are mean to make them go to bed so early and all their friends go to bed so much later, we need to explain to them the consequences of sleep deprivation and the importance of getting enough sleep! 

In saying that, we as parents also need to make sure we are setting rules that do have a benefit, as quite often they don't.  Sometimes we set rules just because we had to live by them as children, with very little thought to the why.  Especially when you have a dictatorship parenting style, often rules are made just to show who's boss - especially with all those 'No' rules.  I believe it's time we as parent's start to analyze the rules we have in our home, and to throw out or adjust them accordingly.   We live in a new generation, so we need to adapt to our children's needs, setting boundaries and rules to keep them from harming themselves, both physically and emotionally.  Rules and boundaries are what make's a child feel safe, so it's up to us to set the right ones and make sure that there are effective consequences in place for when they break them - but always to be enforced and administered with love!!