Michelle Cheplic describes the ultimate act of disrespect in Revenge of the kid. In the article she discusses the story of a teen who attempted to auction off his mom’s naked and provocative photos in revenge for being forced to clean the garage as punishment. While I can think of a few more disrespectful things a child can do to a parent, this is definitely in the top 10.
Yes, teens, and kids in general, are vindictive. But, you can head them off and prevent them from using their evil genius against you if you take steps early on. I can tell you that Michele won’t have these problems with her daughter who made the dismissive gesture toward her because she didn’t let it slide.
I am a strong believer that taking the hard route when they are little will keep kids in line when they are big. You have to instill a certain level of fear of you and respect for you while your kids are still shorter than you. Trying to demand respect from someone who can lean on the top of your head is not likely. I know my mother made sure I respected her very early, and I have done the same thing with my kids… I like to think.
Now this doesn’t mean my kids are going to be angels… they will however know better than to go too far in crossing me. Just the other day I was speaking to a friend on the phone when my daughter began complaining loudly about the dinner I was preparing. (It wasn’t chicken fingers.) Her voice hit a disrespectful pitch, and I had to stop my conversation to put her out the kitchen. My friend noticed the tone and asked if my daughter had told me to shut-up yet.
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Um…. no.
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“I wish she would” was my response. I was informed me that saying such things to parents was not uncommon for teens these days. I was dumbfounded.
Such things are out of the question in my house. Maybe it’s a black thang (as black comedians like to point out), but the thought of hearing such a word from my kids mouth causes me to want to resort to violence. Either I would lose my mind or I would just faint if they were to ever tell me to shut up. (Can you picture it? “Shut up mom!”… THUD.) Upon seeing me faint, I can imagine the child going to their room and packing their belongings as when I got up, there would be trouble.
Am I advocating child abuse? Well, I’m not going to say yes, but such disrespect could cause repercussions that I might regret later. But I’m not worried about that. My kids know better. They know I wouldn’t stand for it. They’re smarter than that. Aren’t they?
If you liked this you should also read my other posts at the home blog, the homeschooling blog, the parents blog, and the frugal blog. You can read my recent posts here.
You should also read:
Five things homeschoolers can do in their spare time