Sometimes respect may feel like a concept absent from your kid's brain, at least in so far as that respect might be directed toward you. You try to strike a balance between disciplinarian and nurturing parent, but it's hard to tell if it has any impact, especially since your child is unlikely to suddenly run up and verbalize just how much they listen and look up to you. Whether they're toddlers or teens, most children don't tend to volunteer that message. So how can you tell if your child respects you?
It's not as black and white as whether or not your child has all As on a report card, a clean room, or a lack of tantrums. (After all, who's to say that a child who manifests those things is doing so out of respect for you? She could just like school.) Children are as complex as adults. Even deciphering the intention behind my 2-year-old son's behavior isn't as simple as you might think. And as children get older and begin to approach young adulthood, what your child thinks of you and whether he or she looks up to you doesn't necessarily become clearer. Before you fall down the rabbit hole of parenting comment boards and endless Google searches, here are some research-based signs that your child respects you.