I am still learning as a parent…well, aren’t we all? Sometimes we think we know what the deal is but later discover there is something deeper going on.
When you have teenagers, one of the common difficulties is dealing with attitudes. These are snotty responses, eyes rolling and the like. I think you can easily picture it, especially if you are raising teens.
It can be frustrating. I am not the only one to be complaining about this lately; all of my friends are dealing with it. But what’s behind the attitude?
Sometimes it is all about correcting your child’s wrongful ways. It may be your teen is rebelling or going against you. But we have to be careful that we don’t automatically assume this is the case every single time.
Lately our family has been on a rollercoaster of emotions and attitudes. With three children dealing with hormones and teenage problems, it can become overwhelming at times.
I came to discover that what I thought one day had been nothing more than a snotty attitude from a certain child, was really someone who was hurting. It took a long day of unhealthy interactions and a final match of yelling to discover what the real source of the attitude was.
I felt terrible after I learned the truth. Would it have been easier for that child to just tell me what was going on? In my eyes, yes…but in that child’s eyes, they weren’t ready for that. They were stuffing it down, causing it to erupt in the form of an attitude.
I guess my point is that we have to be careful when we are dealing with teen attitudes. We need to make sure that it’s not something more than a personal affront against us. In fact, most times it probably really has nothing to do with us.
We have to encourage our teens to not stuff their emotions down. Otherwise they end up coming out the wrong way.
Don’t assume that you know the real reason behind your teen’s attitude. Take time to look further into it.
Related Articles:
Love Your Teen Even When They Are Unlovable
Parenting Teens Is Like a Rollercoaster Ride
Don’t Take Teen Attitudes Personally
Trying to Understand Teenagers
Acknowledging Your Teen’s Pain
Photo by matchstick in stock.xchng