Long story short, my Son Andrew is 20 years old and goes to school about 15 hours per week so he can become a cop. He also works part time when he is not in school, but here is my dilemma. As of late, he puts on his "Lazy pants" at home and doesn't do chores until HE feels like it. Anyone here that knows me knows that I am by no means a push over but he is testing my patience. We don't make him pay rent, but since the lazy pants are on, here is what Barb and I are going to propose to him:

RENT=$300.00 per month

Snowblow= -$25.00 each time
Lawn mowing = -$25.00 each time
Dishes =  - $5.00 each time
Garbage = - $2.00 each time etc. until the rent is paid.

That should keep him on his toes. Barbs' name is still on his saving account so collecting (at least the first month) shouldn't be a problem if he doesn't work it off ;)

Good idea or not? Whatta ya think?

Jimmers

Great idea, I am packing all my stuff and heading to your house. What are you cooking for dinner? ;D

    Break his dinner plate and give him an empty suitcase for Christmas.

                  Poytter

Wow!  That's way more than fair.  Frankly I'd be tempted to place a boot squarely against his happy little ar$e end!  If he ever hopes to make it as a cop - he'd best learn self-discipline PDQ.

Good Luck - isn't it fun raising kids! ;)

Carol

My father usually told me (and my brothers): "As long as you live in my house you have to obey my rules".

Quote:

Break his dinner plate and give him an empty suitcase for Christmas.

How about....Your shit is in the yard and the locks have changed. Should be standard procedure for when they hit 18.

The Mike that hasn't spawned

gizmo wrote on Dec 20^th, 2008 at 10:37am:

My father usually told me (and my brothers): "As long as you live in my house you have to obey my rules".

Absolutely!

Jimmers, I think that's an excellent idea. Very creative.  [smiley=thumb.gif]

Thanks Frank!

I'm going to call it his ARM loan.

Andrews
Reverse
Mortgage

Good kid, good grades, doesn't drink, smoke or do drugs, works hard at work (I know his boss) but the recent laziness at home has me puzzled :-/

Jimmers

U think maybe he might have some SAD or other depression?  If he normally does things before he is asked and suddenly stopped, it could be more than lazyness.

I am not a big fan of charging rent to kids.  It is his home too.  It might not be his house, but it is his home.  Asking him to cover additional expenses such as higher electric, higher food and costs associated with him living there is fair.  

It is your family's home and they should be made to feel it is their home.  Just happens to be that mommy and daddy make the rules, but it is the family home.  If they dont like the fact that mommy and daddy make the rules, they are more than welcome to get the fuck out.

Thats just my opinion.

We charge Nicole (19) $200 rent, and she buys her own food. She has no problem with it, maybe because she was out on her own for a while and learned that it aint all roses in the cold cruel world.

Hope it works out Jimmers,

Roland. ;)

I paid rent at home when I started working - only a small amount to start, but I still contributed to the home. When I started work full time, it went up. It was never extortionate and when I bought my first home, I discovered that my mother had been putting half of it away and she bought me a washing machine, tumble dryer and a Dyson for moving in presents. It was great because we were only 21 and we had no money at all, so to have good quality appliances was a bonus!

I think it's fair and it gets kids used to the real world. Your salary is NEVER all your own (unless you're really lucky and have no bills or rent/mortgage to pay). The sooner they are used to it, the better they become at learning to budget and manage their cash.  

I like your idea of attaching value to the chores too. Really inventive.

Go Jimmers!!!

Nobody rides for free!!! [smiley=sgrin.gif]

Do you have a limit on how many times per day he can cut the grass?   ;)

I never paid rent at home, but I did buy groceries and help around the house.

Your idea look like a pretty good idea to me.  Let us know how it pans out.

                                JPC

Either start helping out at home or pay $ OR go out and start volunteering your time and talents for a charitable organization....but laying around doing nothing is not an option.

The volunteer route is motivating, rewarding, builds social skills and networks, and is great on a resume.... particularly when looking for civil service line of work (like policing).

good luck
Paul

I think it would be good to also just state your expectations. Such as, everyone in the family has a role in the house/yard maintenance. The jobs that need to get done are:

list them out with the expected frequency

Then at a family "meeting" start assigning perhaps asking for volunteers first, and then assign the "unassigned" jobs.

Here's another idea.....my neighbor wanted his daughters in their 20's to help out. He gave them a choice of doing the heavy cleaning chores, or them hiring someone to come in. The girls hired someone to come in (girls paid for it), and all were happy wiht the results.