Question
How should we address general surliness with a teen? She is probably ticked because her electronics are being kept downstairs and she seems stressed over the upcoming prom and who is asking whom, but we are going on two weeks of this and it is really tiring to have every answer be a curt or huffy reply. She is doing what we say, albeit with a 'tude. If we correct something like telling her to look up from her phone when an adult addresses her, she does so with a steely-eyed glare. If she has to respond to directions we've given, she does so in the affirmative but dripping sarcasm. There are some normal interactions in between and she even, unsolicited, will apologize for her attitude but minutes later will do the same thing. I was seriously considering writing down each afternoon's chores on a piece of paper with a deadline to spare the verbal interactions but didn't know if that was a cop-out or a valid way to defuse the tension in the home.
