My Teenager Doesn’t Keep His Agreements

“My Teenager Doesn’t Keep His Agreements!” If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that line. Does anyone have a teenager who does keep all his or her agreements? Did you keep all your agreements when you were a teenager? Now that we’ve established that this is a typical complaint of many parents of teens, what is an effective way to handle this challenge?

It is with pleasure that I quote Certified Positive Discipline Trainer, Kelly Pfieffer, who responded to a parent who wondered how to get her son to keep his agreement to take out the trash:

Answer

Wow, can I relate.  I don’t have a similar issue with my 17-year-old son. His job is to bring in the trash. He works each Wednesday evening and would “forget” to bring the trash & recycling bin in when he got home. Then he would forget again in the morning though the trash can is clearly visible on his way to his car on the way to school. So the trash can would sit out all day the next day and my husband would be especially upset because it’s obvious to the neighbors that our trash can has not been brought in.