How do you deal with a difficult teenage daughter?

In relatively mild situations when a teenager is being difficult, show empathy by not over-reacting. Respond with a smile rather than a frown. Say to yourself with some humor: “there she goes again,” and then get on with your business. Stay above the din. Avoid telling a teenager what to do in trivial matters.

How do you talk to a teenager about their experience?

In appropriate situations when you’re communicating with a teenager about her or his experience, listen without comment (at least for a while). Just be there and be a “friend”, no matter what your actual role is in relation to the young person.

How to deal with a teenager who provokes you?

The less reactive you are to provocations, the more you can use your better judgment to handle the situation. When you feel upset or challenged by a teen, before you say or do something that may worsen the situation, take a deep breath and count slowly to ten.

Why do difficult teenagers behave the way they do?

Many difficult teenagers behave as they do because they don’t believe adults really listen. When you see a teenager upset or under some distress, offer the young person the option of talking with you. Say, for example, “I’m here to listen if you want to talk, okay?”

1. Give it some time Give yourself and your child the space needed to gain back equilibrium. Tolerate the tension without feeling that you have to get your teen feeling good about you again, or that you need to get her out of her funk and negativity. Don’t be needy by wanting her to be okay with you immediately.

How do you know if you’re not finished fighting with your child?

If the fight is over and you find yourself simply wanting to give your child the cold shoulder, or you’re picking on her and being critical for no reason, those are signs you’re not finished—there are some unresolved feelings there. This is why it’s so important to acknowledge that there’s tension in the first place.

How do you win an argument with your child?

Try to “win”: If you’re one of those parents who already knows that the way to gain control of an argument with your child is to walk away and calm yourself down, then you can disregard this point. Realize that if you continue to try to “win” every battle with your child, you will lose “the war.”

Why does my child throw things when I yell at him?

When you yell or scream back at your child, it simply challenges him and effectively “ups the ante.” To put it another way, it escalates the argument. Not only that, but it keeps the fight going longer—the more you try to “win” and come out on top, the more your child fights back, so the louder you yell, and then he starts throwing things…