Humor is a Bridge in Parenting

My daughter is entering her teenage years, and sometimes it feels hard to connect with her. She gets angry more often, and one phrase I hear a lot is: “What’s wrong with you?” She’ll throw it out during a simple conversation, then walk away, get upset, or escalate the moment.

I’ve tried different approaches like being calm and supportive, enforcing discipline, and a few other strategies but not working. That phrase keeps coming back: “What’s wrong with you?”

A few days ago, when she was in a good mood, I decided to turn it around. Out of the blue, I jokingly said, “What’s wrong with you?” This time she laughed, a lot. Today, I tried a slightly different version of the joke, and again she laughed.

That’s when I realized I could make this a routine. If I can associate the phrase with humor and positivity, then the next time she uses it, maybe it won’t carry as much tension. The humor might outweigh the negativity, and her mood might stabilize more quickly.

Then I started to research and found this called humor reframing or positive reframing.

I don’t know if it will works, but I’m hopeful. Parenting is often about adopting strategies to teach them just one simple thing.