Do your children rinse off the artistic blood paint (oh that’s fake blood) from their faces, and you are left to cleaning the washbasins after them?

Your son will probably become a makeup artist someday, but not until you teach them to clean their mess.

Read below to learn smart ways to get your kids to clean up their mess without fighting.

DO your kids clean up, or you let them assume it’s your job?

I live with my teenage son. Because of his school level competition these days, he always staggers downstairs with a gaping flash and a bloody face.

Initially, I was shocked to see this, until much later I realized (Holy Cow! What a moron), he is rinsing off the nasty artistic fake blood from his face.

I sound like a psychopath? 

Yes, maybe, sometimes or most of the time, but my son is an excellent makeup artist with some special effects as you imagined from above. I always am crazy about his artistic work with latex, prosthetics and face paint. However, the new scenario of the bathroom sink filled with fake blood pissed me off to draw the line with a rule that he has to clean his mess PERIOD!  

Cleaning your house can be a more significant task if you have teenagers at your home, and you may need more experience than what it seems.

DO ‘Kids usually complain about the chores?’   

Never, not at all. Why will they?

Kids act like the chores don’t even belong to them J because you build up their assumption…” mess it up and walk away. Mom will clean up after you.”

You may have to approach them from the right side now, to make them do the chores, which they never knew they have to do. The key here is to hold them accountable without the worry of a “hot or cold” (often my teen and I are in speechless Cold fights). If you are right with your approach (which is not always correct in terms of the teens), then you are likely to have less resistance than you can imagine in your nightmares.

HOW to teach them a bonus lesson about money & cleanliness?

It’s Mean but it’s Clean, hear what Parenting Coach Chris Carter has to say!!

If they don’t want to miss their Painting Classes, they better not miss their Chores at home.

Is your teenager a working man or has financial responsibilities for your family, yeah, it is possible to get paid for independent household responsibilities (chores not included)? 

Yes, or No, whatever your answer is; still, you need to pay attention to him for teaching about the importance of money in life.

A book published by Beth Kobliner, with the name “makes your child a money genius…“suggests that a teenager should be taught to have 3 table jars with the labels: Savings, Spending, and Sharing at all times of his or her life, from an early age.

If they learn the significance of money, then they will know the importance of taking responsibility for home chores, and then they will be able to save and share their money; I mean fill in all 3 jars J .

The 3rd jar in Beth Kobliner’ book has a label “Share” which is for charity or social work.

My son recently followed this rule and took 20 dollars from me (Not from his allowances-funny isn’t it!), because he had to miss his Painting class for not cleaning up the sink the last time told me to donate the amount to COVID-19 care fund.

Although it is a small contribution, his innocence and compassion explained a lot more to me, but most importantly, “he learnt the lesson I needed him to learn.”

He also found out that toothpaste can be a great cleaning agent to eliminate fake blood stains from sinks. We now sometimes run out of toothpaste, but both the shower & sink look clean always.

5 steps to establish the invisible Chore Agreement with teens

• Teach them the importance of money, Beth Kobliner’ 3 Jar money fundamental – Spend, Save, Share
• Establish accountability and consequences of doing and not doing the chores
• Sit with them and prepare a weekly chore schedule of their liking, one step at a time
• Once a week work with them to do their tasks, so they understand your expectations clearly
• Follow up, first miss gets a gentle tap, second miss they lose money period! 

WHAT are some brilliant chores for teenagers to start?

• Trash Out: With no-brainer task of collecting the waste from each room & throwing out each bin (only stuff not the whole container) every week. Add it to their weekly roster 
• Pet Care: Kids love the company of pets & you can teach them about feeding your dog every day in the morning and evening or cleaning the cat’s tiny poop box each night 
• Room Clean: Give them 4 simple steps – make the bed, keep dirty clothes in the laundry bin, dust off, vacuum and that’s it
• Dine & Clean: While you take care of the dirty dishes, let him clean the dining table in 2 simple steps – scrape, wipe off with your favourite all-purpose cleaner
• Bath & Clean: If he poops then he better clean your bathroom once a week

WHY will the Teens clean up?

Well, you won’t face this question if you started training and teaching your kids at an early age.

Problem is most of us don’t teach them early on. And thus, grown up men who later become our husbands believe home chores are women’ jobs. We then freak on our in-laws for bad parenting.

And daughters, end up in filthiest rooms or dormitories when they live away for higher studies with roommates or move in with their partner.

Wait a minute, are you teaching your kids to do the chores?

5 reasons why your teens will do their chores 

• Now you have taught them the importance of money from an early age
• You also taught them the 3 jars money fundamental – Spend, Save, and Share
• You have established an invisible Chore Agreement with them, so they can’t outplay you anymore
• For every missed chore, they will either empty their “Spend Jar,” or you will deduct from the bills you pay for them (my son was upset when once I cancelled his painting class, for not doing his chores)
• The “Share Jar” for their social cause is their new responsibility, so they will not miss chores to miss their monies. 

 Conclusion

If unwatched, we often realize that teens remain aloof from home chores or consider them to be your share of works, we decided to take accountable steps to establish their Chore Agreement, so they don’t get aloof again. 

We know the steps to establish our expectations, and follow up until they stop missing the chores because one day soon, they will stop missing chores or lose their own money.

 After the discussion, one more question that is coming out from this situation is – Will it be gender-specific if you have two or more kids with mixed genders? And what will be the scenario if they throw your precious items at each other with a nail-biting fight?

Comment below if you want to know about it.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]