Parenting Techniques And Strategies

noun a gentle or friendly reproof; a warning or reprimand

adjective admonitory (serving to warn or caution)

• The teacher gave a stern admonition to the students for talking during the exam.
• Mom's admonition to clean my room went in one ear and out the other.
• I got a serious admonition from my boss for being late to work again.
• The dark clouds were an admonition of the storm that was about to hit.

noun a disrespectful or defiant reply or response

verb to speak rudely or defiantly in reply

• The teacher reprimanded the student for their disrespectful back talk.
• Don't give me any back talk, just do as you're told.
• Quit the back talk and just listen up, okay?
• His constant back talk was like a barrier to effective communication.

noun a scolding or reprimand

verb to scold or reprimand harshly

• The boss decided to chew out the employee for not meeting the project deadline.
• I heard Sarah's mom chewed her out for coming home late last night.
• My coach really chewed me out for missing practice yesterday.
• The critics are going to chew out the new movie for its lack of originality.

noun a harmless or trivial lie, especially one told to avoid hurting someone's feelings

• It is never appropriate to tell a white lie, even in a professional setting.
• I told a white lie to my friend about liking her new haircut.
• I totally dropped a white lie to get out of going to that party.
• Sometimes a white lie can protect someone's feelings without causing harm.

noun an excessive or exaggerated response to a situation or stimulus

• The company's decision to terminate the employee seemed like an overreaction to the minor mistake.
• Calm down, you're overreacting to the situation.
• Don't freak out, it's just a little overreaction.
• Her emotional outburst was like an overreaction to a small spark.

noun a response or reply that is considered impolite or disrespectful

verb to respond impolitely or disrespectfully

• It is disrespectful for a student to give back answers to their teacher.
• Don't give me any back answers, just do as you're told.
• Stop back answering me, just listen and follow instructions.
• His back answers only serve to worsen the situation, rather than resolve it.