How I enjoy teaching my kids the hard lessons: personal responsibility.
It all started one frustrating day in mid December... December 15 to be exact. My sister in law had come to visit. When it was time to leave, she encouraged her son to help clean, while my kids watched. Nothing I was saying was improving their work ethic, so I told my sister in law her son had done enough and sent them on their way. After they left, a two hour battle ensued with my son about cleaning his room. "But I didn't make the mess, I need help to clean it up!" "Son, you had help, you didn't use it." "But, but, but..." So I did something CRAZY. Something desperate. Something I've only ever threatened him I'd do. I sent him down to eat dinner. I told him *I* was going to clean his room for him. He was happy, skipped down the stairs, probably thinking he just won the battle of the year. What he didn't know, was in the 20 minutes he was eating downstairs, I emptied EVERYTHING in his room. In hindsight, I should have taken a "