Ep 14: Chores and Responsibility
Dr. G, author of Get the Behavior You Want Without Being the Parent You Hate!, explains her philosophy on how to instill responsibility and a strong work ethic in teenagers. In Dr. G's opinion, cleaning your room isn't a chore. Chores are things teens do for the greater good of the family and household.
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Want your teenager to start doing more chores? Good idea.
Studies show that requiring teens to pitch in around the house and community for the benefit of the greater good has all kinds of positive benefits.
But, of course, it isn't so easy to actually convince your teen to take on more responsibility. What's the answer?
Dr. G, author of Get the Behavior You Want Without Being the Parent You Hate, is a national expert on raising responsible, respectful kids.
In this podcast episode she talks at length about how to instill responsibility and a strong work ethic in teenagers. She reveals how, exactly, you should ask teens to do their chores, what you should do about allowance, tips on getting teens into volunteer work, and much more.
Re-Thinking the Definition of Chores
An important question is: what chores should your teen even be doing? Cleaning their room? Doing their own laundry?
Actually, no. These aren't even true chores. Yes, your teen should, of course, be doing all of these things.
But chores, Dr. G explains, must be things that teens do for the greater good, not just for themselves. This means cooking dinner for the family, washing everyone's laundry, cleaning out the stable, doing the family grocery shopping, etc.
And how much of this stuff should you expect your teen to do? Probably more than you think. Dr. G has found that teens need to be doing chores every single day...
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