Hi! I have found that i really need to pick my battles when it comes to chores. Is the thing i am asking them to do, absolutely necessary and will my life be forever impacted if they don't do it right now? Generally the answer is no. In our house (16 and 12) the bedrooms are theirs to keep however they like, the only time i intervene is if there is food in there, that is a big no in our house and must be cleaned up. The rest of the chores i will say (mainly on Saturday as the kids know that is our main cleaning day due to work) "ok, we need to clean the bathroom, kitchen and lounge room, who's doing what" this then ensues a discussion between the two of them about which job they want, and then i do what is left. They know that once they have done their part, they are free to go about their business as usual so it is usually met with little resistance as this is our routine. At first they grumbled and moaned a little, but once they realised we were ALL doing something, they were ok. Maybe you could try a similar approach? Have one day of the week that is cleaning day and at that time, EVERYONE (mum, dad, whoever) has a job, no one gets to sit and do their own thing until they've done their share.
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