Dear Amy: Recently my wife and I took our elder parents and our 11-year-old daughter out for some pre-Christmas shopping at our mall.

We were going to have lunch together in the mall and maybe see an afternoon movie.

We were all looking forward to this outing, which is something we used to do before the pandemic struck.

Our daughter has been acting up and acting out recently, and, starting from when we arrived, she was grouchy and disrespectful.

We can put up with a little of that, but she was treating store employees rudely, too. Basically, she seemed to make it her mission to ruin our day – and she did.

We’re now wondering what we should have done differently.

– Exhausted Dad

Dear Dad: You parents should have taken her aside at the first sign of trouble, and asked her to recognize her poor behavior and … get it together.

If she didn’t adjust her attitude within a reasonable time frame, I think one parent should have very quietly and calmly taken her home so she could experience a very quiet day of media-free reflection, while the other parent carried on with the outing.

You should then explain to her that your goal is for her to show her best self and to treat others well. She doesn’t seem ready to do that, but when she is, you’ll try again.

You can email Amy Dickinson at [email protected] or send a letter to Ask Amy, P.O. Box 194, Freeville, NY 13068.