How Positive Discipline (and a chore chart) followed my son to college

MarcilieChores, discipline, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive Parenting, Problem SolvingLeave a Comment

I visited my son at college last weekend. A sophomore in off-campus housing, he’d been complaining about the standards of cleanliness among his roommates (in his view, the standards are quite low.) For the first time in my son’s life, there is no one other than the 4 guys who live there to clean up the messes, dishes, or bathrooms. … Read More

One way to get kids to take responsibility for their messes

MarcilieChores, discipline, Parenting w/Positive Discipline, Positive Parenting, Problem Solving, Responsibility6 Comments

Wouldn’t it be nice if children would take responsibility for cleaning up after themselves? It seems like such a basic thing; however, if you walk around my house on any given day, you might find: Dried up food bowls in the family room Cheap knick knacks from a birthday party goody bag Little bits of cut up paper, scissors and … Read More

My struggle to get my child to scoop the freaking litter box – part 2 in a 2-part series on agreements and follow-through

MarcilieChores, consequences, long term parenting, Parenting w/Positive DisciplineLeave a Comment

But we had an agreement! Part II: What to do when kids don’t follow through with agreements (over and over again.) I regularly turned my head when I passed it to avoid the irritation bubbling in my chest. It’s not that it was smelly or even that gross (although sometimes it was both.) It was simply a daily reminder of … Read More