Whenever I speak to any of my friends and family about raising teenagers in this day and age they all agree that the only way to do it is to be tougher than they are. For example I run a small business out of my home which is three stories high. My teenage daughter beegan the practice of straightening her hair on the third floor of our house. she would then rush off to school or wherever she was going to leaving the appliance plugged in on the third floor. Oh, did I mention that we have an eighty year old house. When I would discover the iron plugged in I would be mortified. Despite several requests (some more pedantic and flamboyant that others I decided to do away with the problem once and for all. I very casually asked my husband for a hammer one evening when we gathered up in our cozy third floor space to watch a movie. There sat the flat iron. I explained to my daughter that I was tired of her jeopardizing the safety of our family and my clients. I smashed the f-ing flat iron to bits in front of her and informed her that she would not be getting a replacement any time soon. The problem is that my daughter is quite beautiful (often told that she should be a model because of her stunning cheekbones, her beautiful hair and her big brown eyes) so her looks are important to her. Week after week I watched her make do with the resources we left her. flatironless she went to school and did not let my resolve break her down.
Several weeks later, my eight year old son started cleaning up his toys without being asked. Being a fabulous mother I congratulated him on his initiative to which he responded. "Well mummy I don't want them to meet up with an Angry Hammer".
Well our old house is still standing. My daughter has a new flatiron and I still trip over the little guys toys. It is possible to raise teenagers while addressing the things that are important to everyone.