Dealing With Your Teenagers Attitude in a Productive, Healthy Way

Dealing with teenage attitude problems can be a hair raising experience and can leave you feeling at your wits end!

You may have a teen who is refusing to do their homework, household chores, and just giving you general teenagers attitude problems. We have put together some guidelines for you to help in dealing with your teenagers’ attitudes. 

6 Tips for Dealing With Your Teenager’s Attitude

dealing with your teenagers attitude

Here are some things you can do to help deal with your teen’s attitude problems. Be mindful, be thoughtful, keep their best interest in mind, set your ego aside when necessary, and you should be able to work through this in a healthy way.

Also, remember that we aren’t aiming for perfection because some degree of “attitude” or acting out is normal. If you’re wondering why do teens rebel, one of the answers is that it’s part of growing up.

1. Quality Time

In this day and age our lives are so busy with careers, school activities, technology / social media and trying to keep up with leisure activities, running the household and family time. You may find your teens’ attitude problems may have something to do with feeling that you are distant from them or not spending enough time with them.

A recommendation for this would be to ensure that every day there is some time set aside to do an activity together, such as playing a game, watching your favorite tv show together, or simply going for a walk on the beach / at the park.

Spending quality time with your teen may just be one solution to many teenagers’ attitude problems that could get worse over time if you don’t take action. 

2. Affirmation

Everyone has different love languages, and one that may just be your teens, is words of affirmation. Bullying in schools is on the rise and has such a negative effect on our children. It is so important that we let them know they are enough, they are worthy, and that we appreciate them being in our lives.

Words of affirmation can be healing, it can be uplifting and will certainly sink in if they hear them enough. Just like you, your teen also needs to hear some good things about themselves, not only “do the dishes” or “do your homework”.

Attitudes of teenagers can sometimes have a lot to do with problems that are happening at school, peer pressure or a general feeling of low self esteem. Words of Affirmation may just be what your teen is lacking. 

3. Be an Advisor

As we raise our children, we are raising them in preparation for what is to come in their futures. We raise them to be polite, to be kind, to be responsible etc but while doing so, we should not try to control them.

There is a fine line between being a controlling parent and being one that protects your children. We should be lovingly guiding them along, not making their choices for them or forcing our dreams that did not materialize onto them.

Every human is bound to make mistakes along their life’s journey. Just like when we were teens, we made mistakes that we have learned hard lessons from, our teens will have their own mistakes they will learn from.

If we look at  typical teenager behavior and attitudes, we find that teens don’t like to be told what to do but do appreciate good advice to help them make the right choices. We can only be the advisor and hope for the best outcome.  

4. Choose Your Reaction

How we react to things determines the outcome. If we are going to react to our teens in a negative light, we are bound to have a response that we will not appreciate.

Perhaps try using humor, or lightening up the mood a bit with your reaction. You may just get that smile behind the angry teen face in front of you!

Teenagers’ attitude problems can be quickly resolved and produce a better outcome, if we choose to react differently. You will never get the same result by continuing with the same approach. Lecturing your teen a million times over the same thing will not produce different results. Lightening up the mood with calm communication or humor can definitely be a helpful solution. 

5. Lead by Example

Our children mirror what they see their parents do. If anger is always the response from the parents, teens will mirror this and the next thing you know you have a teenagers attitude problem in your hands.

As parents, we should be leading by example, showing our children the way through this challenging life. Allowing our children to witness a healthier approach to life will set them up to handle what life deals us with more ease, a positive mindset and bring healthy outcomes to their tough situations.  

6. Professional Help

Sometimes teenagers with attitudes have a deeper underlying issue that we, as parents, are not equipped to deal with. You may notice that your teen’s attitude is really excessive and you have already exhausted all options in trying to find a solution.

This is when there may be a deeper problem at hand that your teen doesn’t feel comfortable talking about. Some teens find it really difficult to express their emotions or talk about their problems, especially with their parents. You should encourage them to talk to someone they are comfortable with or call a professional in to guide them. 

Teens are sensitive to their emotions and still trying to figure out a lot of the feelings that come up for them. Teens want to have a voice, and they deserve to know that their voices matter. If we shut their voices down, how will that affect them in the workplace later on?

There are many reasons why teenagers develop attitude problems but we are sure that by trying some of the helpful hints above, you will have your teen attitude problem sorted out in no time.

Remember, that we are all different and may react or deal with a problem differently than someone else would. Trying different approaches when dealing with teenagers’ attitude problems can be useful to finding a solution. We hope you found these guidelines useful, best of luck! 

Teenager’s Attitude FAQ

What causes teenage attitude problems?

Teenagers are stuck between starting to realize their identity or what they want out of life and lacking the independence to implement their ideas. This can often lead to behavioral or attitude problems. There may, however, be other underlying problems that can also cause teenage attitude problems. You would need to assess this and discover the cause.

How do I fix my teenager’s attitude?

Using some of our healthy tips on solving your teenager’s attitude problems would definitely be helpful. Try different approaches and if you don’t find an approach that works, perhaps it is time to seek professional help. 

Is teenage attitude normal?

Teenagers can certainly be stubborn, moody and even distant at times. This is all a perfectly normal part of growing up and is certainly normal for a teenager. We just need to adjust the way we deal with it. 

How do teenagers deal with attitude?

Teens cope with stress and problems differently. We are not all the same. They may need some guidance in dealing with attitude from others. Generally, teens will mirror reactions that they have seen and use that to deal with attitudes / problems in their lives. We need to ensure that we lead by healthy examples. 

Final Thoughts on Teenage Attitude Problems and How to Fix Them

Teenage Attitude Problems

In closing, a few final things to keep in mind about a teenager’s attitude are that there isn’t a quick fix, the goal isn’t perfection, and a lot of these issues are pretty standard during adolescence.

If you’re aiming for a perfectly behaved teenager at all times who never acts out, never gets in any trouble whatsoever, and does exactly what you tell them at all times, that’s not a good goal. Let them be a teenager, let them live, let them make mistakes and learn from them, but be there to guide them in the process to make sure they’re not getting into any real, serious, permanent trouble.

Mat Woods

Author Information

Mat Woods is the lead writer at TeenWire.org. He works tirelessly alongside the rest of the team to create useful, well-researched, trustworthy articles to help parents and their teens.