Monday 3 October 2011

Getting teens to cooperate

Easier said than done.

I've been adopting this method with mine and it seems to be working.

If I ask mine to do something by calling down the stairs to them, I get little or no response. 'in a minute' which never happens or the one I really hate is 'I'm saving my game' which takes for ever.

So this is what I do.

Call the child by name and ask them to 'come here a minute please'

Said child responds with 'coming'

When child doesn't appear I ask 'can you just let me know how long you're likely to be please? No rush'

They usually respond with 'I'm saving my game I'll come up then.'

At this point I get on with something else till they appear, I usually don't have to wait long.

I then ask if they can help me. Help with lunch boxes, emptying the dishwasher, putting the bins out or bringing the washing in.

I use this time to discuss school or clubs or what their arrangements are for the coming weekend and I fade out of said task, till I'm still there, talking/listening, but they're the one doing the chore.

It does work, at first they suspect you're up to something, but they soon discover they like this one on one time with you.

Of course in my situation, having only boys, this plan fails when hubby is around for one or both of two reasons.

Hubby tries to 'help' by yelling 'you're mother said to come here' which puts child on the defensive or child thinks 'why should I help mum if dad is here, that's his job'

Do you have any tips on getting your teens to help around the house?
Please share.

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