HOW TO RESPOND WHEN KIDS TALK BACK
I appreciate how this write-up emphasizes the verb “respond,” rather than, say, react, blow up, give up or give in.
I’m not exactly the type to enjoy being told what, when and how to do something so I do empathize with a child whose life is being organized and orchestrated according to someone else’s schedule and ideas, almost all of the time. Neither a four-year-old nor a fourteen-year-old has all that much agency in their life. Not going to school? Not an option. Being on devices all day and night? Don’t think so. Eating cheddar bunnies for breakfast, lunch and dinner? Not gonna fly. So when the littles talk back, here’s the gist of what to do, according to Lifehacker:
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Loosen the Reins (Give them that agency thing….)
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Pick Your Battles (Is it really worth it?)
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Act Unimpressed with the Drama (If there’s no one to fight with, then there isn’t a fight!)
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Channel Your Inner Michelle Obama (When they go low, go high. Or, just leave the room—or house—just long enough to scare them, ha!)
Full list of ideas below.