Five ways to deal with a teen’s bad attitude

One of the hardest seasons of parenting is dealing with a child in their teen years. And it’s even tougher when you’re trying to handle a child with a terrible attitude. You have to be extremely careful here because you might end up taking measures that will only worsen the situation.

These are some of the tips you can use to make the situation better for you and your teen before the situation goes from the frying pan into the fire.

i.Get to the root of the problem

The most important step here is to understand where the attitude came from. You need to have an honest conversation with your teenager as you try to listen to their point of view.

You might be shocked to find out that they’ve picked up the attitude based on the same behavior that was encouraged in the home or that they have developed it as a way of coping with some issues in the family.

Talking to them about this will help you understand how to help them change and the best measures to take when they get out of line.

ii.Take your position as a parent

Your teenager's disappointing behavior could be a sign that you need to adjust your parenting style. Maybe you’ve been too lenient with them or you’ve not been keen on setting boundaries and it’s time you took a stand.

They need to respect your authority as a parent and that’s why you need to show them that they’re not allowed to disrespect you any longer.

iii.Stay as calm as possible

One thing to remember is that you should avoid insulting them or getting into yelling matches in an attempt to show them who’s boss. This technique will never be effective.

Your teen will retaliate and the whole situation will blow up.

Try and relax and ensure you don’t lose your cool whenever you’re dealing with them.

iv.Reinforce the consequences

When they see that there are no consequences for their actions, your teenage will never take you seriously. They are probably used to getting away with things because they know you won’t do anything about it.

Parents are often advised to be stricter when it comes to the consequences so that there will be a behavior change in their teen out of fear of being punished.

However, you have to tread carefully because being too harsh on the punishments could make things worse.

Some teens end up completely defying their parents or even running away which can be terrifying for parents who were only trying to make things better.

The best thing would be to reinforce some light punishments as you encourage good behavior.

v.Get some help

You might need to get a third party to help control the situation. Dealing with a teen with attitude can drive you crazy so it’s a good idea to bring in someone who you know can get through to them.

It could be an uncle they love and respect, a cousin, an aunt, basically anyone you know will be a suitable mentor to them.

Maybe your teen won’t listen to you but at least there’s a chance that they will take the other person seriously.