I tried gentle parenting – my son tried to gouge my eyes out

When I tell my son ‘no’, I don’t hear another pipsqueak from him (Picture: Annette Kellow)

Walking home from school recently, my six-year-old son, Felix, started begging for a Magnum ice cream. 

He was looking longingly in the shop window, practically drooling, but as he’d already had his after-school snack of a cereal bar and fruit, my mind was already made up.  

‘No,’ I said firmly. And that was that. 

Many parents might fear that such a steely response could result in a meltdown, complete with crying, flailing and stamping of feet. And while that would have been true a few years ago, nowadays my son knows the drill. 

When I tell him ‘no’, I don’t hear another pipsqueak from him because, no matter what anyone says, saying no to your...