“You’re completely ridiculous, Dad—you don’t know anything”
“Why do you have to use the computer right now?! Let me use it!”
“You’re the reason I did so bad on that test, because you made me go to that dumb “event”!”
If you are a parent, the above quotes may feel uncomfortably familiar. Of all the difficulties today’s parents face, the shockingly disrespectful way in which their children often address them may be the most challenging. Children whom they love dearly disparage them in sarcastic or demeaning tones, or refuse to respond to simple directions. Parents may feel hurt and powerless, and if the behavior becomes a pattern, they might even grow resentful.
