Pretty much every parent out there knows how frustrating it is when their kids (and especially teenagers) don’t clean their rooms. Is it too much to ask them to straighten things up from time to time? But it seems like there’s always stuff strewn all over the floor. What’s a parent to do if they want to keep their home neat and clean while battling their teen?
While some parents just go for a standard grounding, others take a more creative approach to punishment. After all, these parents want to give their kids a message that they can’t continue to leave their rooms looking messy all the time. Sometimes, these ideas are so creative they work.
Take this idea from Alice Velasquez
She’s a mom from Bargersville, Indiana. As a parent of teenage daughters, she knows how hard it is for them to keep their rooms clean. But she was getting tired of constantly finding a huge mess.
One of her daughters’ rooms was a disaster
Alice’s daughter Tahlia was especially bad at keeping her room clean. Although her mom was always telling her to pick things up, she refused. Instead, her clothes, electronics, and even food would be laying around everywhere.
Time to teach her a lesson
Alice wanted Tahlia to know it’s not okay to rely on her to clean. She needed to pick up after herself. So, she tried to think of a way to teach her a lesson. That’s when she came up with a creative plan. She went into her daughter’s room and picked up all of her stuff laying around.
Then, she put it all in trash bags
That way, there wouldn’t be stuff anywhere. But Alice didn’t separate the stuff into different bags. She just threw her daughter’s belongings in them as quickly as she could. After all, she was tired of having to clean Tahlia’s room herself.
She left a note
Then, her mom left a note on the door explaining the situation. She said if her daughter wanted to buy her stuff back, she could do so for only $25 a bag. It was a clever idea that got her daughter’s attention.
But there was no organization
Since Alice didn’t put the stuff in bags in an organized fashion, her daughter didn’t know what was in each one. There were specific things she needed but she didn’t know where it would be. This added an extra level of stress to the situation, making the lesson more impactful.
Alice posted the idea on Facebook
Alice thought her family might think the situation was amusing. So, she decided to share the story on her Facebook page. But she wasn’t prepared for the response she got. The story went viral in no time, which included a lot of comments she wasn’t prepared for.
Some people loved the idea
Alice says she got messages from people all over the world about her creative idea. Many thought it was clever. Some of them even expressed interest in trying the idea with their kids.
Others had a different reaction
Not everyone thought Alice’s idea was a good one. Some people even said the punishment was a type of child abuse. Of course, Alice didn’t agree with that claim.
Something her daughter will never forget
Whatever your opinion on Alice’s punishment, one thing’s for sure…her daughter probably won’t forget her mistake. Hopefully, in the future, she’ll remember to clean her room. If not, she might be in for an even stricter punishment next time.
Would you give your kids this kind of punishment?
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Source: Little Things, Parenting Isn’t Easy
