When your teen messes up big time, what in the world do you say?

Well, Mark Twain said, choose your words carefully! He said, “The difference between the exact right words and the almost right words is like the difference between lightning bugs and lightning bolts.”

Hey, it’s easy to love your teen when everything’s going well. But it’s a whole lot different when they bust your rules, trounce over your boundaries, and still have the audacity to ask you for cash.

So the next time your teen makes a royal blunder, don’t say something that’ll jeopardize your relationship. Don’t resort to toxic remarks and judgment.

Instead, tell your teen exactly what he needs to hear: “There’s nothing you can do to make me love you more, and nothing you can do to make me love you less.”

If you listen on a mobile phone or tablet, please download our Parenting Today’s Teens app available for Apple or Android. If you listen on a desktop or laptop computer, press the “play” button above to enjoy daily parenting advice.