parenting a child who speaks a different language while living in a foreign country.

I never have really posted a whole lot on parenting, mainly because I'm still learning but I thought this was important to talk about. While I had dreams of what this time would be like, we magically bonding and having no language barriers, I scarcely understood the reality of what would happen.Let me first say that we are able to get across a lot of what we need to say and there are times when I'm amazed at how much we've learned about each other, but then there are times when i see a long road ahead of us. Exactly how do you explain to a child (who speaks a language I do not know fluently) that even while we are in his home country that the parent is still the one in charge? How can I effectively say that I will take care of HIM and make the decisions on day to day activities? Well the truth is you can't...I tried and it only came across as me being a mean mommy. Now, we are silent towards one another and it's breaking my heart. I've tried talking with him but he turns away. Did I make a mistake by asserting myself? I don't know. He needs me and I need him, but mainly I need to be his mother all of the time despite however mad it may make him. I want him to just be a child and have no worries but I'm seeing that may be easier said than done. Ugh, it feels like we've taken a few giant feet backwards.