How can I get my son to clean up the mess he made last night?

Question

He is 15 and the other night he had his friends over and they messed up the living room and didn't clean. I've told him that he has to clean his mess as the carpet layer is coming tomorrow to do measurements. But he just walked back to watching tv. What can I do? Please any suggestion will be appreciated.

I can't take away the tv as it is the family's wide screen

Oh and too the person quoting from my profile that's my daughters stuff. I'm on her account.

I cannot unplug the tv! As it is the familys and everyone uses it.

Answer 1

uhm honestly , i am 15 years old haha and im proud of it. Is totally normal. I, as a teenager am lazy too. I do not want to clean up nor do any chores, but what my mother does is, she tells me how much i work (if you do work), how much i have to do to put you in clothes, put food in your stomach, give you allowance, and etc. You just have to express the truth. Truth hurts, but they will realize it. Do not worry.

Answer 2

If you have not instilled into your son a sense of respect and responsibility by the age of 15 it isn't going to happen in time for the carpet installer tomorrow..

Clean up the mess yourself otherwise it will not get cleaned.. Then start working on instilling the sense of responsibility and respect you should have taught him years ago..

There is no quick fix to this problem as it has been building for 15 years..

1 minute ago
I cannot unplug the tv! As it is the familys and everyone uses it.

You are the frickin mom, your house is not a democracy it's a dictatorship you are the dictator you can unplug the tv, throw the tv out the window put a vase throught the front of the tv or drop the tv over a cliff....

Get a backbone..

Answer 3

Unplug the TV and tell him that he can turn on the TV when he's done cleaning the room. No TV, no going to bed, nothing else until he is finished. It will probably mean that you have to watch over him while he does it, but when he sees that you mean business, he will clean the room.

So, I still understand that the TV is the family's TV. But why should that not be a suitable punishment. When the others get upset, tell them that until he cleans up the room, no one gets to watch the Big Screen TV. I bet you will get some bickering (most likely from the person who controls the remote in the recliner), but if that person is not willing to back you up, then he needs to do the cleaning as well. Unplug it and I bet he will start yelling at the son to clean up his own mess.

Answer 4

Cut the power to the livingroom, or unplug the cable box.
Grow a pair and take charge of your child. Are you the parent or not? Who's in charge? If you don't march in there right now and make him do it, he is!
Take away everything he likes until it's done.
My husband's parents had a great tool: They removed his bedroom door when he misbehaved. He got absolutely no privacy in his room as punishment. He had to earn back the door.

I understand you don't want to unplug your TV... Why? Let everyone in the house suffer because of him. It'll only make things happen faster.

Answer 5

Oh yes you can take away the T.V. You can remove him from the room when it's on! You can ground him from something he really wants to do if it's not done by the specified day and time. You can remind him of the fact that if it's not done within, say by tomorrow morning, that he won't be having another friends night over! Label the consequences of his non compliance and then stick with them. If by chance he ends up not complying, see to it that the consequences of that are such that he won't ever let it happen again. Teach him the law of cause and effect. He shows responsibility for the mess by cleaning up immediately or looses one or several events that are really important to him. For instance that game he wants to watch!

Answer 6

UNPLUG THE FRICKING TV!!!!! Get some backbone and turn off the TV and if that doesn't work then unplug it. Do not let him out of the house until he takes care of the mess. You are the boss not your son start acting like the boss and he will start to repsect you.

Answer 7

Remove the t.v. from in front of his face. For that matter, remove everything that is a bonus and not a necessity. Unplug the tv, computer, nintendo (or whatever).
This may not be in your character, but the shock of it may remind him that YOU ARE THE PARENT, AND HE WILL RESPECT YOU!!!! I'm a former police officer and have dealt with my share of kids who are out of control, and trust me, this is how it starts. I'm sure you are a giving parent who makes your son's life comfortable, but if you reward him even when he disrespects you, then you can expect it to get much worse. I know of a parent who removed everything from their teenagers room except her bed and clothing. This sounds drastic maybe, but living in a room with nothing but a bed is often the future of kids who are not taught respect and accountability (think Paris Hilton). You owe it to your kid and yourself to demand respect. In my opinion it is what the world is lacking in today's parenting.

Answer 8

Forbid him to bring his friends over again unless he cleans up his mess. Or make him clean up the mess while the friends are there and embarrass him in front of them (hopefully you'd only have to do this once). Just a suggestion, but I don't have kids, so I may be way out in left field on this one...

Answer 9

Beat him with a large stick.... That or unplug the cable (a couple of hours without TV won't kill the rest of the family)... Whichever is more convenient at the time.

Answer 10

Unplug the TV.