After researching numerous parenting styles, techniques and skills, I found them all to have one thing in common: successful parenting — power struggle free parenting — depends on the child regarding the parent as an authority figure. Once children know the parent is safe and reliable with meeting their needs, the child relinquishes the desire to control and submits to the direction of the parent. \tThe first goal is for the parent to become the authority figure. The second goal is for the child to learn how to make good decisions. After all, isn’t the sum of anyone’s life the culmination of the decisions they made? The five skills are how the parent becomes the authority figure. When achieved, the outcome is the child learns how to make good decisions. \t