Are Your Chores Done Yet?

“My mom figured out how to get me to do dishes,” announced my teen-aged friend.  “She pays me!”

Whether  parents connect an allowance to chores or believe they should  be done as a member of the household, most parents struggle with getting their kids to do them.  “Nag, nag, nag, that’s all I do,” complained one mom.  “And half the time I wind up doing them myself because I’m tired of fighting.”

Here are a few ideas parents have used to get chores done with less nagging:

• Popsicle Sticks:  Instead of a chore chart, one parent writes them on popsicle sticks and lets her kids choose them.  This eliminates bickering over whose turn it is to do what, or complaints of “I always have to do that!”  (Trading is allowed.)

• Password Hostage:  The same mom changes the wi-fi password daily and only reveals it when chores are finished. (Phones, controllers, and power cords can also be held as hostages.)

• Earning Opportunities:  In our house, extra money could be earned by doing chores that were harder than the weekly ones.  Washing windows, cleaning  the fridge, and weeding were paid chores.  However, regular chores had to be done before any money-earning chores could be started.

• Stick the Parents:  I  used to make a list of 8 chores that needed to be done.  Our 3 sons would sign up for 2 chores each, leaving the last 2 for Mom.  They enjoyed sticking me with cleaning toilets and mopping floors – but they also realized we all had to do our part!

• Love and Logic®:  Instead of threatening – “If you don’t do it, you’re in trouble!” – Love and Logic teaches saying it differently – “When you’re finished, feel free to play!”

Doing chores will help your teen be a better citizen, student, and adult.  Don’t give up!

Whose Room Is It Anyway?

My friend was embarrassed as we passed the door to her son’s messy bedroom: “See that pile of clothes on the chair?  Those are his clean clothes that he won’t put them away!  Drives me crazy!”

It’s a common complaint from parents, followed by the common reaction from teens, “It’s my bedroom; why can’t I keep it the way I want it?”  My response to my sons was that their rooms were part of our house, so they had to keep them the way we wanted them.  However, I was realistic enough to know they wouldn’t always be tidy, so every so often I would warn them that it was a “Room Cleaning Weekend.”  Taking a page from Love and Logic, I would tell them, “As soon as your room is clean, feel free to play your video games.”

Some teens actually enjoy the time spent cleaning their rooms,  moving their stuff around while blasting music.  Others are overwhelmed and don’t know where to begin.  One of my sons would sit on his bed in despair, so I’d sit with him, tablet in hand, and ask him to look around the room.  Together we’d make a list of what needed to be done:  pick up clothes, put away toys, sort through papers, etc.  Once he had a checklist in hand, he could get to work.

Keeping bedrooms clean is a battle that won’t go away, but there are things you can do to increase your chances of winning: avoid threatening, give fair warning, help when needed – and say thank you when it’s done!

A New Year of Parenting Resolutions

Christmas – with all its stresses and joys – has come and gone yet again.  If it feels like it passed quickly, take heart – so too will your years of parenting an adolescent.  It’s an important transition time, one to enjoy and explore rather than merely to endure.  That could be your first parenting resolution!   Here are three more to consider:

Respect your kids.  No matter how much you tell them to respect you, they’re not going to learn how unless you’re modeling it.  Parents show respect when they make requests with “please” (and follow up with “thank you”), when they don’t interrupt,when they speak in calm voices, and when they make eye contact.  Look back over that list – aren’t those all behaviors you want from your children?

Listen with empathy.  When I tell my husband about my bad day, I want him to say, “Wow,” or “That sounds awful.”  I do not want him to tell me that I shouldn’t be so upset, or that his day was worse.  Nobody feels the need to be understood more than an emotional, moody teen.  If parents won’t listen, there’s always somebody else who will.

Praise your kids more.  And in public, even if it makes them squirm.  But be low-key about it:  “Hey, I noticed you picked up your dirty clothes” will be more appreciated than, “Wow, you picked up your clothes?  Good for you!  Thank you so much!”  (And by all means, don’t sneak criticism into your praise, as in “Maybe there’s hope for you yet.”)

Enjoy, respect, listen, praise.  And have a happy New Year!