How the heck do you motivate a teenager?
So, your kid won’t help out around the house. How the heck do you get that teen to do chores? Well, you probably should have started with the chores way back when they were six or seven, but “we are where we are” right? No judgement from us!
There are two main components to motivating kids that we talk about in this video: 1. Connection and Trust and 2. Incentives. We’ve talked all over this site about connection. It may be harder to leverage your connection with your teen at a time when they’re instinct is to push away from you. Which brings us to…
Allowance!
Find out how to use the incentive of money or screen time to get what you want. If you’re saying “wait a minute, I’m going to pay my teen to do chores that they should be doing anyway?” You might think it’s not for you, but just watch the video first! Here’s this week’s question:
“You gotta help me Kent. I’m really stuck with my son. He’s 14, and he’s really hard to motivate. I can’t get him to do anything around the house. I feel he’s at the age now where he can start doing stuff like folding his laundry, helping with the dishes, washing the car, that kind of stuff. But it’s really hard to get him on board. My approach has been to ask him nicely, or explain to him that it’s important and fair for me to ask him to help. I’ve lectured him a little bit about learning to do these kinds of things and work ethic, etc. I don’t really want to punish him, but I don’t want to be passive. How do I get results?”
Clinical Director Kent Toussaint answers your parenting questions every Wednesday at 12:00pm in our weekly segment Tips On Teens on Facebook Live. Have questions about parenting kids and teens? Send them to: TipsOnTeens@TeenTherapyCenter.com. We love to hear from you!
Head on over to our Facebook page every Wednesday at 12:00pm to watch LIVE! Check out our page here – https://www.facebook.com/TeenTherapyCenter/
If you have more questions or would like more information, please contact our Clinical Director, Kent Toussaint at 818.697.8555.