When Teenagers Act Like Children
Handling disagreements with teens when they push parental buttons and use social media for manipulation
Handling teens and their emotional highs and lows
Twenty plus years of working with children and families and raising three children, I know how argumentative teens can be. They challenge the rules and push parental buttons using conflict and confrontation. Situations can arise over the use of a vehicle, curfews, or rules and consequences related to behavior, grades, chores, etc. Engaging in emotion driven rhetoric usually escalates into an argument that exacerbates the disagreement. A therapist I once consulted stated that adults cannot win an argument with a teen, because the younger person always has a comeback.
Instead of falling into the verbal trap set by a teen, parents should clearly state their position in firm and simple terms, stay calm and matter of fact, and control their anger. Parents then need to make it clear to any teen who refuses to accept a decision that they are done arguing and walk away without looking back, rather than continuing to engage in a war of words. Parents have every right to establish rules for anyone living under their roof and to set consequences if those rules are broken.
