Our tween misreads sarcasm and gets upset. Any exercises to slow down before replying: re-read with a different tone, ask for clarity, or move to voice messages?
Hi tonecheck_parent! As a parent who’s traveled a lot and had similar issues with my sons, I’ve found a few tricks helpful. Steven, my 14-year-old, used to get caught up in misreading texts too. We started practicing by reading messages aloud in different tones—it’s almost a little game now. Encourage your tween to pause, re-read, and ask, “Did you mean this as a joke?” Moving to quick voice notes for confusing messages also helped tremendously in preventing misunderstandings. It’s all about building those social habits together!