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Does your kid – or kids – talk back to you? Are they rude or disrespectful? How do you get your child to play nice?
Talking back and being rude is unacceptable, but how you respond to it is usually the key to making it stop.
First of all, don't respond in a hateful way. You are just giving the child justification for their behavior. If you show respect to your children when you talk to them, you can say, “Hey, that is unacceptable. I don’t talk to you that way, and you certainly don’t get to talk to me that way.”
Dads, do not let your kids disrespect your wife. They need to know that no one disrespects the queen of the house. Sons and daughters need to know that their mothers are to be respected and honored, not disrespected and dishonored.
When our kids talk rudely to us – which, by the way, over time did not happen very often at all – then we would immediately not grant their wishes. “I’m so sorry, but I cannot give in to anything you want when you talk to me like that. Even if I wanted to give it to you, I cannot reward you for talking to me in that rude manner. Now, do you want to reconsider how you are going to express yourself?”
Finally, encourage – don’t force – them to ask for forgiveness. “When you talk to me like that, it hurts my feelings. I think it would be best for you to apologize for the way you handled our last discussion.” Once they apologize, genuinely forgive them. Give them a hug and tell them it’s okay.
As you are firm with this behavior and you model the right behavior, over time you will see your kids begin to treat you – and others – with more respect and less rudeness.
