Jean Piaget, the great developmental psychologist, once said that the most common question an
American asks after he described child psychological development is "How can we speed up the process?" To which he replied, "You can't."
What seems like a child's behavioral difficulty often derives from they inhabiting a different mental universe than their parents. Children possess many beliefs which, being incorrect, differ from that of their parents. Not realizing this, many parents criticize or punish their child for, simply, being human.
But being "difficult" does not mean being continually difficult since most children slowly learn the error of their ways. If not, their behavior reflects not normal developmental issues but unhappiness, the source of which need be investigated and possibly treated.