I can hear the laughter now........but seriously!! My oldest son is such a pig, and my next oldest is so clean. I always have made them pick up their messes and put things away, but the last couple of years have been horrible. Do you have any incintives you give your teenage son (verses money because that just doesn't seem to do the trick anymore)? Help please!!
2007-01-04 07:18:44 · 11 answers · asked by cakelady 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
Freedom! That always did it for me. Tell him to keep it clean or he can't drive his car, or go out with that pretty girl. Stick to your guns and he will realize the you mean business and start picking up. He is testing his boundaries. They do it when they are little and he is doing it again.
2007-01-04 07:23:10 · answer #1 · answered by reptmd 3 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Make a "date" that the two of you will clean the room together, even if it means you doing most of the work while he sits there it will be beneficial. Sometimes they actually don't know where to start but if you start them off with a spotless room then you can set some ground rules.
Once the room is clean tell him that he must keep it that way to earn priveledges....it may sound childish but you are not a maid and he needs to know this now.
Tell him that there will be a weekly inspection and given that his clothes are in the hamper/closet NOT on the floor. Any dishes glasses etc are removed his bed is made and the sheets are clean he is free to do his normal activities that weekend, if one of those things isn't done then ban him from t.v until next weeks inspection. If two things are not done take away something else, if the room is a pigsty again do NOT allow him outside the door, to watch t.v, listen to ipod whatever until the next weeks inspection.
It is really important that you stick t your guns, do not say no t.v until you clean because he will ruch the cleaning just to get what he wants and will learn that he can do that on a weekly basis. Make it clear to him that he has one chance to show you his "clean" room at the inspection and if it is not clean the consequences last for one week.
Soon it will become second nature to keep his room clean and then you won't have to come down so hard.
Good Luck
2007-01-04 07:42:03 · answer #2 · answered by strictmom 3 · 2⤊ 0⤋
How about simply a new family rule: No screens or music (pc's, tv, handhelds, videogames, ipods, etc.) until rooms are straightened. Hang with him the first few times without getting upset. Just show him what he needs to do (hang all clean clothes, dirty clothes put in hamper, ect.) Most importantly, DO NOT give in!!! He will protest the first few times.....maybe even the first few weeks, that is typical. Eventually, he will see that you mean business and that its easier to just do it then have fun. You will be so glad you did!
2007-01-04 07:24:45 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
as a teenage (sort of) girl, i know what you mean. my room isnt exactly the cleanest. but its not a bomb either. its funny, because i claim that my room is messily organized, and in a way it is. but that isnt an excuse. i agree with the posts about freedom. if your son wants to play with his friends, or watch tv, or listen to music, use the car, etc. or anything that he has free range to right now, make him at least straighten it up. baby steps tho, dont expect it to be immaculate the first time, or ever for that matter, but each time you make him do it, it will be an improvement, and im sure soon enough, he'll figure out why you are having him clean his room.
2007-01-04 07:41:22 · answer #4 · answered by Syd 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋
I commend you for prepared to do this. As a determine, it is your duty to instruct your teen a thank you to scrub and shop issues sparkling. First you're able to shop something of the homestead tidy and sparkling. 2d, you're able to instruct him a thank you to do it. 0.33, you're able to diminish your expectancies. I ask for quarter-hour an afternoon properly worth of cleansing. while the fifteen minutes are up, he's finished for the day. I ask for specific issues, like positioned all your grimy laundry down the laundry chute. replace your bedsheets and make your mattress. Sweep the floor. you're able to be consistent. Do an inspection often - as quickly as each and every week or so. it isn't any longer honest in case you permit something decide for months, and then yell at him to scrub it up. yet another factor you're able to desire to do is make the room cleansing contingent on something he needs to do. As in, your pal can come over after your room has been picked up. you could bypass to the action picture after your room has been wiped sparkling.
2016-10-06 10:44:43 · answer #5 · answered by murchison 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My mom once told me that she knew how busy I was with my social life and school, so she understood that i didn't have time to keep my room clean. She said she was just giving me a "heads-up" that she would be cleaning my room, going through all my stuff, including my dresser and all the boxes in my closet, on Saturday, so I wouldn't have to.
I ran immediately to my room and cleaned it all up... *LOL*
2007-01-04 08:24:00 · answer #6 · answered by Amy S 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Do what I do, wait until they leave then clean up the room yourself. Put everything into a barrel and burn it. There won't be any hesitation next time. Trust me, it's called tuff love and it really works.
2007-01-04 11:15:41 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Anything on the floor gets bagged and taken from the room! Keep his stuff somewhere he can't get at it, and make him ask for it back. Only give it back when he pledges to keep it off the floor.
Repeat when necessary!
2007-01-04 07:26:52 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
Take away privileges. Always works for me!
2007-01-04 08:34:10 · answer #9 · answered by !!!Free!!! 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
tell him that you will invite his girlfriend over when he is not there and show her what a pig he is. If he doesn't have a girlfriend use someone that will work.
Or take pictures of it and tell him you will show the pictures to her.
That's what my mom did to me, and it worked.
2007-01-04 08:07:15 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋