APSGO Parenting Blog

Helen’s Help – By Helen Jones When my daughters were teens, I had a choice to make. I could remind them of what needed done around the house and I could complain if the work wasn’t done the way I wanted. Or I could come up with a plan that was respectful of everyone and got the work done. I decided on the latter. I made a list of things I would like done around the house and how much I was willing to pay for each one done to my satisfaction. I left it in a prominent place. (The […]
Hi Helen, My wife has a 14-year-old, son from a previous marriage who has recently come to live with us. In the past, he lived with his father and I had contact with him only on weekend visits or vacations. We weren’t especially close, but we managed to get along. However, his father has moved out of the province, and now that this teen lives with us, things have become quite tense. I know it can’t be easy for him missing his dad. I tried to step up to the plate by being involved and before this crazy pandemic, I […]
Dear Helen, I have a fourteen year old son who earns money by doing chores around the house. This week we had an agreement that he would clean out the garden shed and organ- ize the gardening equipment and other odds and ends. He completed the work and although he took a lot of time to get it done, I was satisfied with the job he did. In the mean time however, I got a call from the school that he had skipped several classes. I haven’t paid him yet. He had asked that I pay him on the week- […]