While out on one of my frequent walks, I heard a mother telling her young daughter, "You're not listening to me." I listened for a few moments to the exchange, and it was clear that the girl was listening to her mother; she just didn't want to do what she was asked. That got me thinking more deeply about what was going on. Sometimes the choice of words reveals an underlying motivation.
I concluded that the mother should have said, "You're not obeying me." But that would put the resolution on the mother. By saying you're not listening, she's trying to put the resolution on the young girl, and she wasn't going for it. The mother is not accepting who's in charge, and she needs to figure out how best to get her daughter to comply.
Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see how this exchange ended. Did she just give up or try a different approach? I'll keep my opinion on that to myself.
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