We all joke about how we have to tell our kids to do the same damn thing over and over and over again. They don’t listen. My kids never turn out lights, flush the toilet, put their clothes in a hamper, clean their rooms, help out around the house, wear a jacket, put their homework in their backpack… shall I go on?
Day after day I find myself saying the same thing. Do this. Do that. Don’t forget. Yes, I even took one of my kids to get a hearing test when she completely ignored my screams for her to do something. Her hearing was just fine.
Yesterday, I did my usual bitching about what a mess my house was… how the girls never clean up after themselves and how disgusting their bathroom was. Normally, it all falls on deaf ears.
Last night… the kids’ bathroom was suddenly clean. What?
My oldest took it upon herself to actually clean the bathroom. Toilet and all. The tub sparkled, the sink was free of toothpaste crud and the towels were neatly hung. Of course, she did all this while talking on the phone with her friend for 45 minutes. Oh well… whatever it takes.
I didn’t tell her to clean it. I just made it clear that it was so gross that they should be embarrassed that their friend’s come over and have to use it.
Maybe something sunk in. Probably not. I think the real reason she cleaned it was because she WAS embarrassed that her friends saw it looking like that. But hey, I’ll take a tween’s embarrassment any day if it means something will actually get done around here.
Now, I just need to think of more ways for them to avoid embarrassment.
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