What do you say to teasers? Parent and child evaluations of responses to teasing

Teasing is a common and sometimes problematic event in childhood that has received little empirical attention. In the current study, target responses to teasing were manipulated by editing an ignore, empathy-inducing, humorous, or hostile reaction to a child's teasing into a videotaped story. Parents (n = 117) and their children (n = 147) rated these responses and gave information about their own teasing experiences. Parents and children both approved of the nonhostile responses more than the hostile response but disagreed on several of the open-ended items about their experiences with teasing. Response preferences varied by the child's gender and his or her experiences with teasing. Implications for parental advice about teasing are discussed.