Ask Amy: Exasperated parents inspire kids to help at home
Once, the youngest was complaining that he was the only roommate that cleaned the bathroom, and I about fell off my chair laughing. If I was given a do-over, I would nag less and enjoy the time with them more.
Enjoying it Now
Dear Amy: “Exasperated Mom” complained that no matter what she tried, she could not get her teenagers to pitch in around the house. A sure-fire way to get their attention is to turn off the WI-FI and lock it up until chores are done. It's also possible to suspend a phone line instantly and temporarily - a great way to get a teen's attention.
Parenting non-compliant teens is all about leverage. Find the right lever and you can move any teen!
I’ve Got the Lever
Dear Amy: Back in high school, one of my friends didn't do her chore before leaving with us for a party. Big mistake. When she got home late that night, the dirty dinner dishes were in her bed. No lie. Lesson learned! (Well, she learned her lesson -- my mom was all bark and no bite!)
No Leftovers, Please
Dear Amy: As a parent of four teens, I learned to make a list of possible chores so they could select their own, and what was left would be my chores.
It worked so well that I expanded it to Easy Chores, Hard Chores, and Disgusting Chores with a notation of how many they needed to choose on each list. They treated it like a competition!
This all happened on Saturday morning, and nobody got to leave the house until they did the chores. If they put their minds to it, they were done in 30 minutes!
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