HELP FOR PARENTS WITH STRONG-WILLED, OUT-OF-CONTROL CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS

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Defiant Teens and Manipulative Behaviors

Defiant teens know how to push their parents' buttons. Instinctively, they come with an arsenal of tools to get what they want, avoid getting into trouble, or cause their moms and dads to blow a fuse out of frustration. This is called manipulative behavior. There are smart ways to counteract the manipulation. Below are some important suggestions on what you can do if you have a defiant, manipulative teen.

How to Deal with Manipulative Behavior:

1. Agree on strategies to deal with your adolescent's manipulative behavior with your spouse/partner. For example, if you tell your adolescent that she can't go out on a Friday night until she finishes her homework, it will be useless unless your spouse/partner tells her the same thing. If an adolescent does not get her way with one parent, she may go to the weaker parent to get what she wants.

2. Be consistent. Learn to say “no” with some strength behind it when you mean it. If your “no” often becomes a “yes” because your teenager has been successful at wearing you down, a pattern of emotional blackmail can result. Your teenager has learned that being relentless works. So say “no,” state your reason, make it short and to the point, and walk away.

3. Be honest with your teenager about her manipulative behaviors. Have a frank and upfront discussion about how you understand what she is trying to do and how it makes you feel. Expect her to deny ever doing any of the things you say she is doing. However, continue to explain that you don't care for the way she is manipulating you and she must stop immediately.

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

4. Claim your bottom line. Manipulative behaviors are designed to throw you off balance and create self-doubt. Knowing your own bottom line as a mother or father will help you when your teen comes at you with her resourceful ways to make you unsure of yourself and lose your center. Hold on to your parenting principles. Be careful not to let your teen’s emotions drive you. Listen to her feelings so she knows you care, but stick to the rules you've established.

5. Display a sense of confidence. Manipulative teens mostly target those parents whom they think to be low on self-esteem and having a less amount of self-confidence. Don’t portray yourself as a parent who is naive and can’t stand up for his or her parenting principles. Walk tall with your head high and show that you feel really confident about your parenting decisions.

6. Do not allow your adolescent to bully you to get his way. Speak to him in a firm voice (e.g., "Are you trying to bully me?"). Asking him this question lets him know that his behavior is inappropriate and that you will not put up with it.

7. Don’t get drawn into lengthy discussions. If your teenager is asking you for something you have some flexibility on, go ahead and listen to her argument as long as she’s being respectful. If it seems reasonable to you, you can decide to change your “no” to a “yes.” However, if you don’t change your mind, only discuss it with her up to a certain point. Stop giving her your counterpoints and disengage. You’ll know when it’s time for you to stop when you feel like your buttons are being pushed. Pay attention to this and swiftly end the conversation and disengage. Don’t say another word. Walk into another room or out of the house. Engaging at all, in any way, will only add fuel to the fire.

8. Don’t try to explain yourself after you’ve said “no.” Once you’ve said “no,” any attempt on your part to justify it will not matter. All your teenager is listening for is whether or not your decision still stands. If you continue the conversation, all it will be about is her trying to get you to change your “no” to a “yes.” So, don’t get hooked into trying to get your teenager to “understand” and be “okay “with your decision. As far as she’s concerned, any “no” is totally unfair. You will get nowhere trying to make your “no” acceptable.

9. Understand that a defiant teen is a work in progress. She might need to learn better ways to manage herself in life, but she is not bad or malicious. Her intentions are not to “hurt you” or make your life miserable; however, if you believe that's her intention, then you will see her that way. Believing in your teen will help her see herself with all the goodness that is in her and with all her best intentions.

10. Have realistic expectations. It’s unlikely that your “no” will be followed by your teenager saying, “Okay, fine.” Manipulation will probably follow instead. So, be prepared for it. It’s what defiant teens do. And as difficult as it is to say “no” (because of what you know will follow), it’s also extremely important to learn to say it and stick with it.

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

11. Identify what kind of manipulative behavior your teen is trying to use. Manipulative behavior is all about control. Most teenage “manipulators” try to make the parent do things for them by getting the parent to feel a sense of guilt or sympathy. So, learn to identify this. Instinctively, defiant teens develop tactics to get what they want -- and avoid what they don’t want. These tactics work when they trigger a reaction in the parent. So, pay attention to your triggers. For example, your teenager might try to emotionally blackmail you by acting depressed until she gets what she wants. This will be a trigger for you if you believe your job is to keep your teenager happy.

Start by asking yourself if your job is to make her happy, or to help her prepare for adulthood. If it's the latter, then you can answer with, “I'm sorry you're upset, but you're still grounded this evening.” Another common manipulation involves anger (e.g., "That’s not fair!!!"). Don’t take statements like this to heart (e.g., “I know you think this isn’t fair, but you do need to shut the computer down now."). Some teens will play the victim-role and say things such as, “All my friends can stay out past 11:00." Don’t take the bait. Separate out the emotional content from what your teenager is trying to get. Hear her feelings about being the “only one” who can't stay out late, but stand strong on your curfew time.

12. Know what triggers your negative reactions. Your teen may display a certain tone of voice, a certain look, an attitude or certain actions that may upset you and get you to react. Manipulative behaviors therefore might set you off. If you prepare for them by knowing your buttons, they will be less likely to get pushed. (Here’s an example: You have a strong need for approval from your teenager, so hearing her say “I hate you” is a trigger for you. You want to “keep the peace,” so instinctively, you let her off the hook so she won’t be unhappy with you.) Recognizing your triggers will help you plan and prepare for how not to let your teenager push your buttons.

13. Listen before you speak. When your teenager asks for what he wants, listen. Give his requests the consideration they deserve. That does not mean always saying yes, but it does mean giving them some honest thought. If your teenager knows he can come to you directly, he will be less likely to try to get what he wants indirectly.

14. Realize that manipulative behavior is normal behavior in defiant teens. It’s important to realize that your teenager’s attempt to get you to change your mind and say “yes” is normal.  When you realize he’s not doing it because of some terrible pathology inside of him, it will help you relax and deal with the behavior. Rather than reacting with panic or worry, if you’ve thought things through and are comfortable with your decision, just stick to your guns. Caving in to your teenager’s demands in order to steer clear of his tirades will only teach him that manipulation works.

15. Some teens use lying to get what they want from parents. These lies can be either blatant, or subtle "white lies." But no matter the form, lying can be an effective way to manipulate you if you’re not careful. It's really hard to deal with children who lie. You may get burned a time or two before you see that you are being misled big time. Once you have caught your child in a lie, refuse to accept anything she says as true. Withhold your trust and explain to her that the lies must stop now, and she will have to prove herself to earn your trust again.

16. Take care of yourself. Be in charge of your own emotional health. Don’t give in to your teen’s manipulations so that you can feel calmer. If you need him to be happy or to validate you, then you might inadvertently give in to your teen so that you can feel good. But each time you justify his behavior and let him off the hook so that you feel better, he learns that these behaviors are effective and he grows to depend on them. Instead, learn to tolerate him being upset, which will in turn help him to tolerate his uncomfortable emotions. Managing your own calm will free your teen up to learn how to manage his life and get his needs met without resorting to manipulative behaviors.


 

==> My Out-of-Control Teen: Help for Parents

15 comments:

Unknown said...

All of this is good if you are able to tell your child no and they obey that. We have told our child no many times just to have her go ahead and do it anyway. We have no power with her and if we try to enforce our rules such as removing something out of her room which she was not supposed to have the confrontations are horrible with threats of knives from her being used on us, she throws things, and eventually the police are called by us.

Unknown said...

That's because you believe you have no power and she knows it. I work in a juvenile detention center and I see this all the time. You must be fair, firm, and most important, consistent or you will just hand her the power.

mich said...

I agree with them. When we take his stuff he attacks us and breaks the walls. When we say no he has a rage attack. He threatens knives and cusses words at us. He talks sexual. What can we do?

Stressed mother said...

Right there with you and we ARE powerless. My son blatently lies in our faces. I say no he can't use the car and he begins punching walls. I call the police and they tell me it's a family issue and there's nothing they can do. Often times I say no and he threatens suicide. I've recently had him involuntarily committed to a psychiatric hospital. He's on meds but the behaviors continue. I can't force him to take meds because he is over 14 and once they are 14 a parent cannot force mental health care or treatment. So we DO NOT have power. Last week he told the hospital that his father told him to slit his wrists. Another blatant lie after I removed his tv and other belongings from his room. I've welcomed child services into my home to show them that there is no child abuse, in fact, there is parent abuse! He is abusing us and we are on the verge of a breakdown dealing with him.

Helena said...

I would call the police when he is physical and don't bail them out. Let them suffer consequences. I'm not saying that it's easy or that it will work. Just trying to help. No judgment from me. Teens are harder to control. I'm trying to learn things myself. But think "tough love". That's what's best when your teen is that out of control.

Denise said...

Kids who are threatening with knives or other forms of violence are not simply "defiant" teens - they are at least borderline sociopaths or psychopaths and NEED PROFESSIONAL HELP. They need psychological treatment by people who know how to handle them - and YOU need to remove them from your homes before they do serious, irreversible harm to themselves, to you, or someone else in the home. Cops and jail may be required if an event occurs before you can get them to help, and that is not a bad thing. That kind of experience may wake them up, or it just simply shows you who they really are, despite what you've tried to do for them. But "giving in" is NEVER the right answer -- especially when actual threats of violence are involved. That is NOT normal, it is NOT OK, and it should never be allowed.

If you have other children, how would you live with yourself if you allowed them to be harmed by the out-of-control child? I know it's hard to see one of your children as the "bad guy" -- but if it was a friend or neighbor behaving that way in your home, would you allow it to continue? Would you ever allow them inside your home again? Don't let a child destroy you, your home, or anyone else in your life.

They may be your kid, but NO ONE PERSON should be given THAT much power over others in life. It's not healthy. It's not normal. It's not acceptable. It's not how the world works--and you're allowing them to remain on a collision course with utter failure if you don't do everything you can to stop them from being that way. It may be impossible to "fix" them - but at least you can say you tried, and you can say you protected yourself and others from possible serious harm.

Kesakary said...

We lost "parental control" when the courts finally stepped in. Teenagers nowadays know how to play the system. It's sad.

Unknown said...

My child is a diagnosed sociopath. I don't know 😞 what to do anymore.

Anonymous said...

My wife never says no gives the older boy now 16 everything and anything he wants. This is my step kid. I married his mother 4 years ago. I have no biological children but was raised polar opposite then this. It has been the biggest obstical in my entire 41yrs of life to not let this cause a problem in my marriage. Just the other day i insisted he go with me on a job call because he can not even be trusted at home alone. He complained the entire ride with his anger escalating, by the time we arrived i told him,The sooner you realize you will not always get you way in life the better it will be for you. He flipped out screaming crying and punching the seat in my truck and kicking. I was like look you can have a fit if you want to but first get out of my truck before you distroy it.Cause we are not leaving until i am done so pull yourself together and lets do this. He acted like a fool the entire time. I was finished with the repair in 30 min and we headed back home. I told the client they didnt owe me a thing and i was really sorry for the disturbance as i left feeling so humiliated. He hasnt spoke to me in two days since it happened. I am still pissed about it. My wifes response to me asking what she was going to do about it was well she wasnt there and didnt see what happened. Wouldnt matter if i had it on video she still wouldnt do anything about it no consequences for his actions never say no just seems like huge problems in his future to me. Thanks for letting me vent sorry if im off topic.

Unknown said...

I agree. My neighbor was killed by her own 16 year old son. He stabbed her to death with a kitchen knife. If they are threatening you with bodily harm, get them out of your home.

Poly Ludd said...

I can't believe none of y'all have figured out why kids do this. It's obvious. My original response was going to take the essay and replace every "teen" or "adolescent" with "parent," but it was too long. After that, there are only a few changes needed to make sense (e.g. homework to housework). You should try it; it's moderately ok advice.
I'll just spill the beans for ya. Why do your kids act this way? They don't respect you, or your world. Kids resent being told what to do all the time, and unfortunately there are less consequences for taking it out on your parents than anyone else. It's a very strange thing about this society (probably others too) that parents put up with far more crap than police, preachers, other bullies, and until recently, schoolteachers. If you can't identify in the least with your kid, is that the kids fault? Why might a kid get along with his mother and not his stepfather? Something Freudian perhaps? Why is it that no matter how many times I call the police on my son, he just becomes more defiant? Why is it a bad idea to lock my kid up to teach him to behave? Is it because juvy is full of other bad kids, and he’ll just get better at it, and at a certain point I’ll have to decide whether I should respect my kid, or never talk to him again? I know, I know… how dare I say you don’t respect your kid. He just can’t behave; you don’t want to live with him; you want him locked up; you want him taken away; because he won’t do what you tell him. I got along much better with my parents once they stopped trying everything in my life, and got used to the fact that their son is bbbbbbad. It all changed when one day, we got in an argument—nobody was struck, nobody was injured, no property was damaged, no one was threatened. I left the house, much like item eight in the list:
(8.Don’t try to explain yourself after you’ve said “no.” Once you’ve said “no,” any attempt on your part to justify it will not matter. All your parent is listening for is whether or not your decision still stands. If you continue the conversation, all it will be about is her trying to get you to change your “no” to a “yes.” So, don’t get hooked into trying to get your parent to “understand” and be “okay “with your decision. As far as she’s concerned, any “no” is totally unfair. You will get nowhere trying to make your “no” acceptable.)
Anyways, I left the house, and went to the garage to cool off, and give my folks some time, and the police showed up. Being a young black kid, and someone who had been arrested constantly (because my parents would rather call the cops than back down), they confused me with a soccer ball, and kicked the crap out of me.
Then my parents started to realize, ‘you know, this kid’s got a point.’ He’s not so bad. We’ve been great since. They changed. All you have to do.

Carol said...

Poly, GREAT ADVICE! I have a 13 year old grand daughter, very defiant. Has recently started cutting, piercing, cutting her hair, lying, using foul language, getting 0's in school (used to be straight A's) caught vaping. Her parents are strict but always involved, very much in athletics, church, (my daughter is a school supervisor). My grand daughter has had a 'perfect' life from what I can see (and I'm a very involved grandmother) but nothing is good enough for her. She wants money spent on her constantly. HATES being told no, hates being told to do her chores if she wants her allowance (which she hasn't gotten for a long time because she refuses to do anything she's told to do!) Constantly asking for stuff and knowing that no means NO with my daughter (she doesn't give in to her manipulation). They are at their wits end with her! She is on medication, which doesn't seem to help at all and her counselor has now suggested she have psychological evaluations because she has been seeing her for almost a year and nothing changes. Very heart breaking for me and my daughter and son in law. They don't know what they have done wrong (I don't thing they have done anything wrong) but the older grand son is 'easy'. He's 16, has a job where he is respected and junior supervisor, at his age, pays for his own car and insurance. Does his chores without a hassle....My husband thinks that my grand daughter feels "compared" to her brother but I see no indication of that and my daughter always says she makes sure not to in any way compare them to her but I know in talking with my grand daughter that she resents her brother because "he always does what he's told to do". Guess, I too just needed to vent. The kids will be staying with me tomorrow. My daughter and son in law definitely need a break from the constant turmoil that is in their lives so I keep them sometimes on weekends...fix special foods and play games with them. We always usually have a good time except my Grand daughter lately has been wearing a 'hoodie' and hiding out in the bedroom a lot, barely coming out then I found out that last time she was here she pierced her nose!!! She of course was told NOT to do that but she really doesn't care what anyone says! She hid it from me...(no more hoodies allowed in my house!) and begged her mom not to tell me she did it here. She REALLY doesn't like it when I get on her. I've only done it once (and no I would never lay a hand on her) but I sure let her have it when my daughter called me in tears because of the awful and hurtful things she said to her and it seems I am the only one who can bring that girl to tears. For everyone else she simply acts like she could care less what they thing but for some reason if I give her heck she is in tears. Doesn't bother me a bit though...I don't fall for that crap, I just tell her to dry it up and get her hands away from her face so she can LOOK at me while I'm talking to her.....I sound "mean" but don't really have a mean bone in my body but it must make her think I "might" be mean...I don't know, there's only been that one time I really yelled at her about hurting her mom so horribly bad (that broke my heart, my daughter is so kind hearted and loving). WOW....I REALLY did vent. Thanks for listening (reading). Sometimes it feels good to talk to someone who understands more. Have a great day!
Carol

Rennesance collar said...

"getting 0's in school (used to be straight A's)"

They gave "F"s in school when I was growing up. Of course now, "feelings"

Anonymous said...

This is exactly our situation with our 14 year old out of control daughter. Mentally and physically exhausted.

Anonymous said...

Same thing here . I’m a single mother and two of my boys make me feel like I wanna just kill myself. Police told me they can’t do nothing for me to just be parent.

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