Just one quick bitch ...

[Callaway]

Why would anyone change clothes five times a day? She can wash them herself.

OCD, maybe?

Teenage girl.

Make her wash her own clothes then!

It's a good idea, in theory.

Where does my suggestion break down?

The notion of her being able to do it on her own is pure fantasy. It would mean more work for me, not less. And mind you, we've been trying to teach the kids all this for years.

I have managed to teach my thirteen year old daughter to wash and dry clothes pretty much independently, but you're definitely right that it would mean more work for you, especially in the short run.  She changes her clothes often when she's at home too, if that's any consolation.

[RageBeoulve]

Why would anyone change clothes five times a day? She can wash them herself.

OCD, maybe?

Teenage girl.

Make her wash her own clothes then!

It's a good idea, in theory.

Where does my suggestion break down?

The notion of her being able to do it on her own is pure fantasy. It would mean more work for me, not less. And mind you, we've been trying to teach the kids all this for years.

I have managed to teach my thirteen year old daughter to wash and dry clothes pretty much independently, but you're definitely right that it would mean more work for you, especially in the short run.  She changes her clothes often when she's at home too, if that's any consolation.

I change like three times a day myself. But thats because if they feel the slightest bit dirty, I can't wear them a second longer.

Plus I have jogging outfits that I wear in the morning and by the time i'm done with them they're drenched in sweat. Thats one outfit of the day at least.

[Adam]

I change whenever I get a shower, which is usually just when I get up in the morning, and before I go to bed.

[Christopher McCandless]

Nope, just a teenager.

Probably easier in the long run to make her more independent then.

[odeon]

Nope, just a teenager.

Probably easier in the long run to make her more independent then.

Working on that.

[SleepyDragon]

It's amazing what a kid (or anyone really) can accomplish when THEY HAVE TO, OR ELSE!!! The key question, though, is: Are you, the responsible adult, going to retain your own sanity until the end of the process? The recalcitrant one can summon an impressive array of stalling tactics:

"Oh sorry Mum, I didn't hear you calling. What was it you wanted me to do, again? But I can't, right now! Just let me battle the final boss, it's only going to take a minute!"

Twenty-five minutes later: "Okay, I'll save and quit, Mum. But I've got some maths homework to do. It's only one chapter, I'll do that first."

Fifteen minutes later: "No, I couldn't start my maths homework. I couldn't find a pencil."

Half an hour later: "Mum, how come you're not telling [sibling] to clean his room?"

Then there's the "I'll do the job so badly that she'll never dare ask me to do it again" tactic, the "Didn't you say you were going to give me pocket money for this?" tactic, the "I have suddenly become deaf and have also acquired a terrible case of executive dysfunction" tactic, and the ever-popular "I'll wait until just before bedtime and announce that I'm ready to do it then" tactic.

Sometimes the kid actually will make a half-decent effort (after all, he's seen you do it hundreds of times), and you have to suppress your OCD-driven urge to do it all over again because he hasn't done it the way you would have done it.

What ages are your kids, Chris McC?

[TheoK]

I change whenever I get a shower, which is usually just when I get up in the morning, and before I go to bed.

I change about every 10 day or when I'm about to go to town. 

[Phlexor]

I get the kids to do their jobs and I don't care if they do a good job or not. They have plenty of years to get better at it. Sometimes that means I have to supervise but I guess that's what you have to do.

Growing up my mum would always just do the things herself because she wanted it done right. As a result, I left home and I didn't know how to do shit around the house.

[TheoK]

Hehe, my dad is an undiagnosed Aspie. He can hear in about 30 seconds what's wrong with a car engine and then repair it, but he's unable to explain how he repairs it, so I can't do much more with a car than driving it, filling the fuel tank, changing oil and changing tyres.

[Adam]

The SS will be here in less than an hour 

[TheoK]

 

[Peter]

Why would anyone change clothes five times a day? She can wash them herself.

OCD, maybe?

Teenage girl.

Make her wash her own clothes then!

It's a good idea, in theory.

Where does my suggestion break down?

The notion of her being able to do it on her own is pure fantasy. It would mean more work for me, not less. And mind you, we've been trying to teach the kids all this for years.

I have managed to teach my thirteen year old daughter to wash and dry clothes pretty much independently, but you're definitely right that it would mean more work for you, especially in the short run.  She changes her clothes often when she's at home too, if that's any consolation.

I change like three times a day myself. But thats because if they feel the slightest bit dirty, I can't wear them a second longer.

Plus I have jogging outfits that I wear in the morning and by the time i'm done with them they're drenched in sweat. Thats one outfit of the day at least.

I change whenever my clothes are too dirty for the current situation.  Sometimes that's three times a day, more often it's once every two or days.  If I'm just sitting around the house by myself, I won't bother to change if I get a little mud or food on my clothes, but I'll always change into fresh clothes if I'm going out in public, or if people are coming to the house.

[Christopher McCandless]

It's amazing what a kid (or anyone really) can accomplish when THEY HAVE TO, OR ELSE!!! The key question, though, is: Are you, the responsible adult, going to retain your own sanity until the end of the process? The recalcitrant one can summon an impressive array of stalling tactics:

"Oh sorry Mum, I didn't hear you calling. What was it you wanted me to do, again? But I can't, right now! Just let me battle the final boss, it's only going to take a minute!"

Twenty-five minutes later: "Okay, I'll save and quit, Mum. But I've got some maths homework to do. It's only one chapter, I'll do that first."

Fifteen minutes later: "No, I couldn't start my maths homework. I couldn't find a pencil."

Half an hour later: "Mum, how come you're not telling [sibling] to clean his room?"

Then there's the "I'll do the job so badly that she'll never dare ask me to do it again" tactic, the "Didn't you say you were going to give me pocket money for this?" tactic, the "I have suddenly become deaf and have also acquired a terrible case of executive dysfunction" tactic, and the ever-popular "I'll wait until just before bedtime and announce that I'm ready to do it then" tactic.

Sometimes the kid actually will make a half-decent effort (after all, he's seen you do it hundreds of times), and you have to suppress your OCD-driven urge to do it all over again because he hasn't done it the way you would have done it.

What ages are your kids, Chris McC?

Lol - I don't have any, but my parents were pretty strict on getting me to do stuff. Though my excuses were  pretty sharp.

[Parts]

It's amazing what a kid (or anyone really) can accomplish when THEY HAVE TO, OR ELSE!!! The key question, though, is: Are you, the responsible adult, going to retain your own sanity until the end of the process? The recalcitrant one can summon an impressive array of stalling tactics:

"Oh sorry Mum, I didn't hear you calling. What was it you wanted me to do, again? But I can't, right now! Just let me battle the final boss, it's only going to take a minute!"

Twenty-five minutes later: "Okay, I'll save and quit, Mum. But I've got some maths homework to do. It's only one chapter, I'll do that first."

Fifteen minutes later: "No, I couldn't start my maths homework. I couldn't find a pencil."

Half an hour later: "Mum, how come you're not telling [sibling] to clean his room?"

Then there's the "I'll do the job so badly that she'll never dare ask me to do it again" tactic, the "Didn't you say you were going to give me pocket money for this?" tactic, the "I have suddenly become deaf and have also acquired a terrible case of executive dysfunction" tactic, and the ever-popular "I'll wait until just before bedtime and announce that I'm ready to do it then" tactic.

Sometimes the kid actually will make a half-decent effort (after all, he's seen you do it hundreds of times), and you have to suppress your OCD-driven urge to do it all over again because he hasn't done it the way you would have done it.

What ages are your kids, Chris McC?

Lol - I don't have any, but my parents were pretty strict on getting me to do stuff. Though my excuses were  pretty sharp.

Mine too they said I had an excuse and argument for everything.   I didn't do laundry myself till I went to collage and had nobody to do it for me.  I don't mind so much now my kids know how but won't unless pressed to

['andersom']

After more than 20 years it does get annoying.

People grinning, smiling, putting their hand either on my or their abdomen, smiling even more, looking at my belly. 'Wink, wink, say no more, say no more'.

I'm a very huggy touch loving person, but the amount of people that is allowed to touch my abdomen is very small. And I don't want pregnancy comments anymore.