How to Cope With Pre-Teens' Attitudes

Raising children is an exciting time in your life, but when they reach the pre-teen years of 11 and 12, your children may become frustratingly difficult. The attitudes of a pre-teen are varied depending on the individual, surroundings and other underlying causes of the behaviors, but every parent wants to know what to do about them. With the appropriate amount of communication and discipline for unwarranted behavior, you will be able to not only teach your pre-teen the appropriate way to behave but also teach why this is so important.

Instructions

    • 1

      Find the underlying cause of her attitude. Many pre-teens act out due to reasons such as stress about school, fights with friends or confusion about all of the life changes. Consider the fact that she may be dealing with something more serious and make a plan to speak with her about it.

    • 2

      Remain calm when he is acting unfavorably by keeping a stern, yet relaxed tone of voice. Do not lash out, yell or set a bad example by giving attitude back to him. Children at this age will only react to your anger, rather than what you are trying to say.

    • 3

      Communicate with her during a calm period to ask her why she is acting out, if anything is wrong and if there is anything you can do to help. Explain to her that this behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Give her consequences for her actions should she behave in this way again. Reiterate the importance of acting respectfully to others, even when she finds it difficult.

    • 4

      Follow through with the consequences. While it may be tempting to end the punishment early due to good behavior or other reasons, be prepared to follow through until the end. If you have other children at home, keep consistent by making these consequences for bad behavior true for all of your children.

    • 5

      Show your appreciation when she is acting respectfully and kind to others by rewarding the good behavior. This instills the importance of acting appropriately, and will remind her that when she does not have attitude towards others, she is treated in kind.

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