What to do about a disrespectful teenage daughter

Almost nothing is more upsetting than a raging, rude and disrespectful teenage daughter. She can fly into an emotional rage that completely takes all rationality out of the room in an instant. A disrespectful teenage daughter can flatten your hopes and dreams to build connection and love in your home. It can be devastating for even the strongest parents.

Don’t despair! There is hope.

Hope comes not in trying to make your disrespectful teenage daughter change. It might seem like the answer is to get her “under control.” But handling a raging teenage daughter requires changing your own perspective. Let go of the idea that she should stop yelling. Forget the fantasy that you can rationally talk to her when she is shrieking and screaming. And instead learn to accept this behavior as normal in teenagers who are attempting to get their needs met. It may feel like disrespect to you, but it is not dissimilar to when she was little and cried out for help. It just means she needs help.

Teenage brains are emotionally volatile. And girls often use their voices to express how they feel. Accepting this fact does not mean that you condone what they do. Instead, you can understand it and also learn to not take it personally. Your daughter’s behavior towards you does not indicate either that she is a bad person or that you are a bad parent.

Your disrespectful teenage daughter has a baby self

The thing to understand about teenagers is that they are in between their “baby selves” and their “adult selves.” This transition is critical, and also very confusing. Their baby selves really want your care and attention. Meanwhile, their adult selves are desperate to separate from you and become grown-ups who don’t need you anymore. This tension can feel unbearably uncomfortable.

The ways girls typically handle this transition is by fighting with you. It sounds really strange, but fighting allows them to continue a relationship with their parents. Fighting allows them to meet their baby needs while also making them feel as if they are not babies. They actually think that “using their words” to fight with you shows how grown up and independent they are. Meanwhile, it also fulfills their needs for parental engagement.

Confusing, huh?

This is why we often shake our heads in wonder, trying to figure out what we’re even arguing about and why we are arguing about it. In fact, the completely nonsensical arguments can be our daughter’s attempt to connect with us.

Our daughters still need us

The bottom line is that our girls desperately need us during the adolescent stage of their lives, but they have a really uncomfortable way of showing their need. By yelling and engaging in debates with us over pointless topics, they are making sure that we are still paying attention to them. And to them, attention – even if it is negative attention – is love.

When we are able to recognize their volatility for what it is – an attempt to gain our love – we can separate ourselves from their yelling and focus on what they really need. The key is to change the way we communicate during a difficult conversation. Here are the rules of engagement:

Listen

Listen to what she says, calmly and without reaction to the way she says it (i.e. yelling).

She may say: “I can’t believe you won’t let me go to the party! You know how badly I want to go! Everybody else is going, and it’s so annoying! You won’t let me grow up! You treat me like a baby! I can’t stand it anymore!”

Respond

Respond with a reflection that you heard what she said and a statement of your boundaries on the issue.

You may say: “I hear what you’re saying. You’re really upset about this, and I’m sorry about that. Nonetheless, you may not go to the party.” 

Listen

She will likely respond with another angry tirade. This is her attempt to engage you in a fight. Do not fall for it.

Respond

Once she is finished with her tirade (don’t interrupt her – just let it flow), reflect what you heard and set your boundary. Remember, this shows that you are giving her attention by listening without interrupting. You are also holding steady and not reacting negatively to her request for attention.

Repeat

Repeat this process as often as necessary to let her know that you both hear her concerns and will remain firm in your parenting.

This approach to difficult conversations with your teenage daughter will, instead of escalating and then devolving into despair, prove to your daughter that you both hear her and are still keeping her safe in the world. She may not like how you choose to keep her safe, but she will respect you for it (but don’t expect her to tell you that!).

This applies to any controversy you encounter with your teenage daughter. Whether she is fighting you about eating or not eating, wearing a teeny tiny skirt, going to a party, painting her room black, or staying in her room all day, the approach is the same: listen, acknowledge, and state your boundary clearly and consistently.

It’s OK to feel angry

So – it’s OK – in fact, it’s totally normal and would be weird if you didn’t – if sometimes you feel deep anger, rage and even despair when your teenage daughter is raging rudely at you. Take a breath, and remember that her baby self is trying to get the attention it needs. Rather than engaging with the very unreasonable baby self, stay compassionate and firm in the face of what may feel very much like insanity.

Disrespectful teenage daughters who have eating disorders

It gets even harder when your teenager has an eating disorder or other serious mental health condition. On the one hand, you want to treat her with great compassion. You are desperate for her to heal. You really want to do all the right things to help her get better.

On the other hand, your teenage daughter who has an eating disorder may be disrespectful, rude, and hard to handle. You’re losing your mind trying to do everything right. You feel like a failure. Take a deep breath. It’s not your fault. All of the advice in this article applies to a teen daughter who has an eating disorder who is being rude and disrespectful. Hang in there. Most importantly, get support for yourself. You don’t need to do this alone!

See Our Guide For Parenting a Teenager With An Eating Disorder