Why Your Child Doesn't Respect You: The Mistake 99% of Parents Make

You shout, threaten, deprive the teenager of gadgets, but the teenager only grins in response?

Perhaps the problem is not his "Generation Z" but that you yourself are destroying your authority.

Imagine: you forbid eating sweets, but you yourself secretly munch on chocolate in the kitchen. You say that lying is bad, but ask your child to tell the teacher that he is “sick” in order to miss a test.

Children see the difference between their parents' words and actions. Respect cannot be demanded - it can only be earned.

And the first step is to stop lying to yourself. If you allow yourself to break the rules, why should he follow them?

Another mistake is inconsistency. Today you allow walking until ten, tomorrow you scold for being five minutes late.

Yesterday you praised him for a B, today you shout: "Why not an A?" The child stops understanding what is expected of him and loses trust in your words.

Set clear boundaries and stick to them together. If you agree that the phone is taken away at 9:00 PM, don’t make an exception “just for today.” Otherwise, he’ll learn that the rules can be bent if you whine loudly enough.

But what if you do everything "by the book" and he is still rude? The reason may be your lack of attention.

A teenager is rude when he feels he is not being heard. You ask, “How are things at school?” while scrolling through your Instagram feed. He sees that you are not interested, you are just doing your duty.

Try to talk less and listen more. Don't interrupt when he's talking about a stupid argument with a classmate.

Don't devalue: "You're messing around with nonsense." It's important to him - so it should be important to you too. Respect is born in a dialogue where both sides are equal.

And the last secret: children respect honesty, not strength. If you made a mistake, admit it. Say, “I was wrong to yell. Let’s start over.” This is not weakness, this is courage.

When a teenager sees that their parents can apologize, they learn to take responsibility for their actions. And they also begin to truly trust you.

After all, you are no longer a “warden”, but a living person who also falls and gets up.