How the Kids Treat Their Mother

Anyone else have this problem? Any ideas on how to stop the 'mom is our maid, cook, laundress, gardener, chauffeur' mentality? Or at least stop them from taking all she does for them for granted.

All our kids have chores each day which they for the most part do. But heaven forbid you ask them to do something else around the house that isn't on the Job Chart.


We've tried time-outs, beatings, grounding, starvation, being forced to listen to Barry Manilow, water boarding, thumb screws etc...(while water boarding seems to somehow not be against the Geneva Convention, I think being force-fed Manilow is, so no tattling to Home Land Security).

We explain to them that this is a large house with a large family living in it and everyone has to pitch in and help. Otherwise the house is going to turn into one of those old-lady houses you see on the news that have been condemned. You know the ones; forty years of newspapers stacked six feet high in there, Big Mac containers from when they used to be Styrofoam, 72 cats living there...If everyone does help out, it really isn't horribly painful to keep this household running.

And I must admit that sometimes we actually get through to them. Usually it's after their mother and I have had our 19th nervous breakdown. But at least that's something.

So we continue on (mainly Sam) trying to make this home a place people feel welcome in. I think most of the time we succeed. Sure there might be a few dishes in the sink and toys scattered about and a bike or ten on the front lawn and the laundry room looks like a clothing store threw-up in it (35 loads a week will do that). But the kids are always having friends over to hang-out or spend the night so it must not be too bad. I mean we haven't had to send out a search party for a missing child in the house.

We love the fact that our kids aren't shy about asking if their friends can come over and hang - better here than hanging out a Mall. Last Thursday night 3 of our teens had 5 friends total hanging out...and that was a light night. We always have plenty of drinks and snacks on hand. Plus we have a really large family room with a cool TV and stereo, plus game tables on the back screened-in porch.

Now if I could just get them to clean-up after these get togethers without complaining...