How to deal with criticism from teenagers

Some teen criticism may be true. Learn from kids. When first criticised, adults and teens may clash. The "super father" or "perfect mom" loses hero status as their imperfections become apparent. To handle teen criticism, you need particular abilities and tools. We'll see.

First, stop viewing teenagers as "family oddballs." Adolescence has its own traits and challenges, like all phases of life.

This phase is characterised by the search for identity. Adolescence is a challenging time when kids aren't yet grownups. They must construct their own place, with personality and autonomy. "Making a difference" includes criticism and disagreement.

It's also vital to understand adolescence's context. This stage of life has altered, as have customs and habits. Technology affects reality and daily life, for example. We shouldn't be surprised if our teens ask about our behaviours or statements.

Respect must guide criticism and debate. Teens form their personalities and often separate from adults through disagreement and criticism.

Some tips for handling teen criticism:

Suggestions for giving feedback Instead of getting angry when your child disagrees with your plans and curfews, consider reminding them you can be more flexible so they can spend more time with friends. So, they learn self-confidence. We might also review how we convey our rules and boundaries.

Consider whether your child's critique is true. Teens may say, "You always control me" or "You never give me room." Before turning a deaf ear, we might also ask if we should adjust how we handle growing children. Sometimes we fail to recognise that young kids are maturing and need us to adjust.

Ignore criticism. Adolescents test themselves by challenging adults. This is vital to remember so we don't feel constantly assaulted or like they have a "grudge" As adults, we must be subtle in the content, frequency, and style of our criticism and know what is "tolerable." We'd be grateful if they pointed out ways to improve. This improves our relationship with them.

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