Four Ways to Respond to Back Talk & Sidestep Power Struggles

How do you respond to kid’s back talk?

Inside the Emotion Guide Collective, our peer support community, one of our members shared a genius way she responds to her child’s back talk and it got me thinking more about the connection between back talk and power struggles.

When we view back talk as rude, disrespectful, and argumentative behavior that is unacceptable and must be stopped, we create an environment for power struggles to thrive.

Here are four other ways to think about back talk and sidestep power struggles:

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3 Tips For Tending To Children’s Big Emotions

In the past hour, Jacob must’ve texted his mom, Andrea, fifty times and called her three. All she wanted was to have dinner with her friends without the constant interruptions.

Besides, he was supposed to be in bed asleep. She knows he has trouble falling asleep without her laying down with him first, but she hoped this time would be different.

It wasn’t.

Andrea can’t figure out when to push Jacob to deal with his anxiety and when she should just let it go. She feels helpless and at the mercy of his emotions. She is out of ideas and nothing she does works long-term.

Does this sound like your client, child, or student?

What does Jacob need?

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