Welcome back to Parents R Us! Thanks for stopping by again. Today I want to talk about a topic that is near and dear to my heart, lol. Responsibility. I was taught by my parents to be responsible and I firmly believe that we as parents today need to pass this on to our children. Unfortunately, we live in a very irresponsible world.

Just look around. Crime is one type of irresponsibility. People commit crimes they don't want to be responsible for. There are many people in our world that live off the government because they aren't responsible enough to go out and work. Kids today often want everything handed to them instead of taking responsibility themselves. It seems that teaching kids about responsibility has become a lost art.

When parents don't teach their children to be responsible, they are handicapping their children for life. Life meets no one halfway, as my husband often says, and responsibility is imperative in every part of life. Learning responsibility gives a feeling of value and self confidence. Kids that are taught responsibility are more likely to get better grades, have better self esteem, and become successful in life.

Teaching kids about being responsible isn't something you decide to do when they turn 13 and become a teenager. You have to start young. From the time your kids can walk and talk, you can start teaching them to be responsible. As soon as they are able, teach them to make their bed. It may not be perfect, but it is a small task. Have them place their clothing in the dirty clothes each night instead of on the floor. Make sure they pick up toys when they are done. All these simple things can make a huge difference and teach kids responsibility while they are young.

As kids begin to get older, they can take on a little more responsibility. Preteens and teenagers can be responsible for taking out the trash, washing dishes, sweeping the floor, cleaning the bathroom, and other tasks that they are adequately able to handle. Not only does this help them learn about responsibility, but it makes kids feel more like a part of the family. For a house to run efficiently, everyone has to work together. This also keeps mom from being the one who gets left with all the work in the house.

Although kids should not be overwhelmed with chores that steal away their childhood, a certain amount of chores in their life is great for teaching them how to be responsible later in life. Often giving them an allowance for doing their chores is a great way that they can EARN their money, instead of merely being handed something for nothing. It teaches kids the importance of money. When they have to earn it, it becomes more valuable to them.

Of course not only should responsibility be taught around the home, but in other areas of life. There is the responsibility to learn and work hard in school. They must learn to pay for their actions as well. There are consequences to each action, which is another part of responsibility. When they make mistakes, they need to deal with the consequences of their actions.

While it's often a bit of a battle of wills to teach your child responsibility, it is imperative to their success in life. Children who are taught responsibility will be better prepared for life on their own. They will learn how to achieve success, they'll become great workers, and learn how important responsibility is in each part of their life.

Today we don't see a lot of responsibility. It's time we start ensuring that our kids become responsible adults. Many problems in society today could have been prevented if parents would have required their children to be responsible. So, make sure you give your child some jobs to do and let them learn to be responsible while they are young. It may make the difference in their adult life.

I’m going to tell you right now raising a teenager or two can be very hard. That is because while they are not little children any more they are not quite adults yet either, but are extremely knowledgeable and certainly more bold than when I was in that age group. Sometimes it seem like everything is a contest or a power of wills if you will.

You are still responsible for raising them right, as well as feeding them, clothing them, and putting a roof over their heads. It also goes without saying that you are also responsible for teaching them responsibility and their discipline to. Talk about walking a tightrope lol.

Fortunately I still have a few tools at my disposal and I am not shy about using them to get my way either. My favorite tools are their allowances, the internet, and their cell phones. These are particularly good tools to have in your arsenal because it allows you to have supreme control over their environment in your home and nearly as much on them when they are outside of the home.

An allowance is a good way to teach them responsibility. My kids earn their allowances by performing chores both in the home and on the property as well. I am not saying they do all of the work, but to get their cash they have to earn it. They also have to learn that right now having a paying job is a privilege not a right. They also have to learn that if they don’t do their work then there is a penalty and it costs them money.

The internet is another tool that I have that I use all the time. Having access to the internet is also a privilege not a right. I don’t know a teenager that can go more than one day without suffering from a Web Jones. If my kids don’t do their homework or don’t do their work in school, they don’t get on the computer. That’s it, end of story for them. They also lose this privilege if they think they can win an argument with either me or my better half, because we refuse to lose.

Last but most certainly not least is their cell phones. I treat these much as I do the internet - they are not a right they are also a privilege. They can use these if they do what is required of them educationally, as well as following the rules we lay out for them. If they don’t live up to their responsibilities they don’t have phone privileges.

Of course the one idea that I go out of my way to reinforce with them is that any and all of these privileges can be revoked for any offense, depending upon the severity of their transgression. That does not mean that I am a harsh taskmaster, on the contrary I am very mellow person most of the time. I just make sure they know where my limitations and their boundaries are and keep those lines drawn consistently.

I hope this little blog has helped to give some of you parents with brain damaged teenagers to raise a little insight and help in the arena of parenting, lol. Have a great Friday the 13th and an awesome weekend, CIAO4NOW!!!!!