Step 1:
Good timing is everything. When you are having a discussion with your teenager, time your punch lines and playful words carefully. When you learn to balance your timing for positive spins, it will result in a much more enjoyable conversation when attempting to get your point across.
Step 2:
Get your point across without having to resort to emotional outbursts. While your teenager knows how to push your limits, he/she sometimes just can not stop. Emoting only makes matters worse for both of you, leaving little room for open dialogue.
Step 3:
Tell your teenager: “I know that, as a teenager, your only purpose in life is to argue with everything I say, but I am feeling very tired, so forget about your life's purpose for tonight, and get back to it tomorrow."
Step 4:
When you are lecturing your teenager, use a positive spin. Say something along the lines of: “I know you don’t need me to advise you, but if I fail to parent you, I fail at my job. So please sit there and let me do my job."
Step 5:
Get your teen involved in improving your disagreements by asking him/her if he/she can think of a way to turn the discussion into something positive.
Step 6:
Shift your paradigm. Having a teenager includes absurdity and ridiculousness. If you are serious about it, you will not get any fun out of it.
