How do you deal with a strong-willed child? My second child is extremely strong-willed. He was a person who would not stay in his bed at night, he would walk down the hall, and he would sleep on the floor outside our bedroom. Not for one night, not for one week, for four months. He would not go back in his bedroom. Every night I would have to pick him up, and every morning I would come out, and he would be back there on the floor. He was extremely strong-willed. The most important thing that I've learned with a strong-willed child is you have to be consistent and you have to have rules. You have to stick to those rules and not give on them. Ultimately, they'll benefit from that structure and abide by the rules. But you can't give into them because once you give them an inch, they'll take a foot.