Getting tired of your teen’s sass? It’s not yet hopeless. It can still be rectified without resorting to abusive methods. However, if this behavior is not confronted, it can lead to bigger problems. Sometimes you think that kids act this way because times have changed and it is different now. I beg to disagree. This is not how it should be. Talking back is a big problem most parents have to deal with in this time and age. This usually starts when your kids are still young. But you shrug it off at times and just think: kids say the darnest things.

At a very young age, children realize that the world is not always the fantasy land they thought it was. They begin to see the flaws of a human being and then they get to have an idea of what is right and what is wrong. This happens because they are developing mentally and physically. They start talking back and become demanding. As a parent, you have to deal with this carefully and not forcefully. Being angry or annoyed will get you nowhere.

At first, you thought it was cute when he said something cheeky and then you went on your merry way, not knowing that your child has just realized that he can actually talk back and get away with it. Gone is the child that always obeys whatever you told him to. The little lawyer in your child always comes out and practices his skills on you. You may have noticed that at one point, you are talking to your child, and the next you are locking horns with each other and shouting. Your child would rather argue with you instead of just picking up his bag, the one he dropped on the floor when he arrived from school, like you asked him to. If this kind of thing doesn’t happen always, maybe it’s fine, but when it becomes an everyday routine, no one enjoys that any longer.

You need to ask yourself where your child learned how to talk back because he did pick that up from somewhere or someone. He may have seen it at home, school, TV, neighbors or maybe he learned it with how you talk to him. You should have a very good make over plan to use with your child and you should be consistent with it.

You should have a relationship with your child that is based on respect. You should talk to your child and treat him with respect at all times. If your child sees that you act in a disrespectful way, he will think that this is just fine with you and then start acting like that also. You should take the role of modeling to your child seriously. When your child talks back at you, you should make it clear to him that what he is doing is wrong and that you don’t like it. Talking back is quite addictive and should be seen as a serious offense. You should be calm and should exude authority.

James Lehman, a Behavioral Therapist has put together a program that could change your child’s behavior effectively. I recommend that you get a copy of The Total Transformation by James Lehman.