Teach your children about accountability and responsibility with the advice in our many articles, blog posts and podcasts on the subject. Learn what "being accountable" really means—and why it's vital to teach it to your child. Teen responsibility isn't just a dream. Step by step advice from straight-talking experts.
If you spend much time on EmpoweringParents.com, you’ve probably noticed that we talk a lot about "accountability." But have you ever wondered what it means to hold your child accountable? It’s an excellent question and one that we receive often during online parent coaching. When we talk about accountability with our kids, we are most... Read more »
The idea that kids should learn to do chores for some abstract reason—like duty or responsibility—sounds good on paper, but has very little practical application in a child's life. It just doesn't work as a strategy. But there are practical steps you can take to get your kids to do their chores. Getting kids to do... Read more »
Many parents spend enormous amounts of energy lecturing their kids about the importance of being responsible. Often to no avail. Despite the lectures, your kid still won’t clean their room, empty the dishwasher, complete their homework, or apologize to their little brother. To your child, it probably just sounds like nagging. And for good reason.... Read more »
"My 13-year-old daughter's bedroom is a complete mess. It looks like a tornado just ripped through it. And when I ask her politely to clean it up, she either ignores me or throws a fit!" If this sounds like your child, you're not alone. Many parents who use the Empowering Parents coaching service complain about... Read more »
Whenever an adolescent doesn’t want to take responsibility, it’s very likely they’ll present themselves as a victim. When your child says, “You don’t understand me,” that’s playing the victim, because what they’re really saying is, “I’m a victim of your misunderstanding." When they say, “My teacher is mean. That’s why I didn’t do my homework,”... Read more »
"It's not my fault. That's not fair!" How many times has your child shouted this when she’s upset? Although it’s often difficult to know how to respond to this as a parent, understand that it’s normal for children and teens to feel this way from time to time. Kids have keener “fairness detectors” than we... Read more »
The alarm goes off and the morning battle begins: you knock on your child’s bedroom door to wake him, but you have to go back time and again to make sure he’s actually up, your voice rising with each “wake-up call.” As the minutes tick by and he still hasn’t gotten out of bed, you... Read more »
“My 14-year-old son is late for everything. It’s always, “In a minute,” or “I’m almost ready.” He’s not a bad kid, but he just doesn’t seem to understand that there are people waiting for him. The last straw was when he made us miss the beginning of our daughter’s high school play recently, even though... Read more »
Making excuses may start innocently enough—kids don't like consequences, and they make excuses to get out of them. It's annoying, but we tolerate it. But over time, children may use excuses as a way to avoid responsibility. And the more a child avoids responsibility, the more excuses are needed to get by in the world. And... Read more »
“I’ve told you to clean your room 1,000 times!” Why nagging your child, yelling and repeating yourself don’t work—and how to talk to your kids so they will listen. Here’s the truth: nagging and arguing with your child doesn’t work. We parents often get in a rut—out of stress, frustration or just not knowing any other... Read more »
