In an article on the Good Housekeeping website, Charlotte Latvala offered the following insights:
As a mild, relatively safe form of rebellion, back talk appeals to teens' desire to feel independent and adult. Annoying though it may be, sarcasm reflects their growing mental capabilities. "There are several cognitive leaps during early adolescence that mean kids' thinking becomes much more sophisticated," says Maureen O'Brien, Ph.D. ...
If you accept rudeness, you'll get it, says Marybeth Hicks, mom of four and author of Bringing Up Geeks: How to Protect Your Kid's Childhood in a Grow-Up-Too-Fast World. "When a kid is rude, we shrug our shoulders and dismiss it with, 'Well, that's a teenager for you!'" she says. "But it's neither acceptable nor appropriate for kids to act that way it's just common." ...
When one of her children makes a comment she deems over the line, Hicks calls the kid on it immediately. "I tell them when something they say is not OK, and then ask them to correct their language or apologize," she says.
Labels: communication
Posted By: Aspen/CRC