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Dealing with Ingratitude
Tips to Help You Handle Your Teen's Attitude
By Teri Brown
Kelly has five hints for getting preteens and teens to help around the house with a better attitude.
- Let your teen select the chores for which he or she will be responsible. She should then pick something she doesn't mind doing and something that fits with her time schedule.
- Teach the chore. You may think a teen has watched you run a garbage disposal a thousand times, but some of them won't have paid any attention.
- Set up a natural reminder system – a chart or a note left on the kitchen counter for the teen. Unemotional memory jogs will help him succeed at his chores.
- Offer leniency. If she has finals, give her a week off from her chores. Keep in mind that today's teens are often as strapped for time as we are.
- Offer praise. The appreciated teen is far less likely to have "attitude."
These tips will not disperse with the eye-rolling or the ingratitude attitude altogether; these are teenagers after all. But real life teaches teens with far more impact then any of the contrived experiences we could concoct. An attitude of gratitude and thankfulness for the blessings life has handed them isn't just an attribute coveted by harried mothers, but one which will stand them in good stead for the rest of their lives.
