Respect is a very important thing to teach a child. My mother taught me the importance of this, and I taught my children. A child who respects his mother, obeys without question. When they are old enough to reason, they should be allowed to ask questions politely, later.

Toddlers are inherently inclined to argue. Some more than others. This is part of learning to speak, and processing the learning of rules. But some will have a streak of wanting everything to be exactly right. If mommy says "put it in the blue bag," he might obey just fine, but while he's doing it, say to mommy, "the bag is blue and green." When the mother looks, she sees that he is right, and so she says nothing. But this is an irritating habit, and not necessary. This tendency can bloom from a small weed, into a tall, strong one. It can develop from simple things like that, to bigger, and more important things. By then, it will be much more difficult to re-teach. For yes, you are teaching your child to correct you, by allowing it.

Never argue with a child. When you argue, you are degrading yourself in their eyes.

I believe every mother should be on the lookout for the child with a special yen for correcting, and nip it in the bud. Just because the child is correct, does not give him or her the right to correct his parent. Such a child should be taught "even if I am not right, it is rude to correct me, because I am your mother."

We may be very gentle with our little ones, and not correct them every time they speak, or we may correct every little thing. But when a child begins to correct back, that is a weed in a personality. In general, students are not allowed to correct their teachers. People are not allowed to correct police officers. Careful gardeners pull weeds, to make the garden more beautiful, and to help the good plants grow better.

A yen to correct others in a child may develop into a feeling that he is responsible for keeping mother correct. This is not the child's responsibility, and will be a heavy burden for the child, as well as a burden for the parent.

A Christian parent could tell her child that she is responsible in God's eyes, for mistakes she makes. That this is not a child's right, and he or she may not do it.

That said, a few children have unusually strong personalities. It is hard to cook some things, like turnips, to please the palate. There may be a child here or there, who remains critical in their personality, no matter what you do. In that case, just put in more spices, do your best, and hope for the rest!

The child will grow up with more friends, if he or she is not critical at heart. You will be doing your child a favor by helping him or her have a more pleasant personality.