(Hat tip to YPulse Essentials Blog)Lisa Schnecker, Salt Lake (UT) Tribune)
Traditionally, asking teens to do chores has been a tricky venture.
But when Paula Fox asked her 15-year-old daughter to unload the dishwasher recently, her daughter simply replied "fine." No attitude. No sulking -- at least not any that Fox could see. The exchange was brief and simple.
It was done via a cell phone text message.
"It's way easier to do over a text than when I ask her to do it person," said the Salt Lake County mom. "I don't get the rolled eyes or have to hear 'I know, Mom.' Maybe there's a little bit of avoidance there, but it works for both of us."
While many worry the rise of text messaging will lead to the downfall of social skills and relationships, some say it can actually help parents and teens connect. At an age when many kids give their parents the cold shoulder, texting can actually lead to more communication and help diffuse tense situations, said Alyson Schafer, a Toronto-based psychotherapist and author of several parenting books.
"It doesn't detract from our face-to-face interactions," Schafer said. "I see it as being additive and enhancing the existing relationship. [The teen years are] when we know they need the most parental support and communication tends to break down." READ ON...
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