[thackney]

Regulation is the process of keeping someone from doing something. Control is the process of making someone do something.

Most would disagree with this definition.

Usually, when someone complains someone else is NOT controlling their kids, they are not preventing the kids current actions.

[GreenAccord]

I think the word 'regulation' is poorly adapted to parenting. Indeed, as a parent, I agree it's about controlling your kids, no matter the situation, and I wouldn't naturally say that I was regulating them.

But in my discussion with arderkrag, I was contextually differentiating control and regulation in the government context. And I would still stand by the definition of regulation as I posed it in a more general sense. I was differentiating the two words, control and regulate, the former being more about making something happen, versus reacting to a set of existing circumstances.

I suppose synonyms for either word would serve this purpose. Control/manipulate, regulate/ fix.