Anonymous wrote:My 14 year old has done that. I walk away in the moment. Later, we talk about how he cannot go through life calling people names when he's mad. I wouldn't stand it from his father. I told him I wouldn't stay with someone who called me names, and while I can't leave my son, I'm certainly not going to help him out or do anything for him if he's nasty. He can be mad and think all kinds of bad things. That's normal. But he can't act out with that anger. Go take a walk to cool down. Something productive.
He did it once more, in anger, right before I was supposed to take him to the gym (his current love).
I didn't take him to the gym.
He hasn't done it since.
While it's infuriating when they do this, and prompts a whole bunch of other emotions, to me the long game is most important. Teach them how to manage that anger in a socially acceptable way.
I have not yet encountered this, but I think this was handled well. The natural consequence of treating people badly is that the person doesn’t want to do nice things for you (or as you pointed out, if it isn’t your child you set a boundary and end the relationship).
Thank you for sharing your experience. I will keep this in mind if I find myself in this spot with one of my kids!