Just wanted to say... teenage boys can be just as trying! Hoobley I do the same with Joshua and his clothes... if they're not in the washing, they don't get washed...as for his room, I only ask he makes his bed. He's not too bad with that.

I noticed a few who have kiddies living with dad/mum... Joshua lives with his dad (his choice mostly) but I tell you they butt heads like nothing else and I'm at my wits end with it sometimes when Joshua calls me because he hates living there but doesn't want to live here cos his mates are there.... *sighs* it's not a fun part of being a parent that's for sure... although I must say that I'm so grateful that just in the past few months Joshua seems to trust me enough to come and talk to me about things more now. It's taken many, many hard years of letting him know that he can come and talk to me about anything at all. My number one rule is I will do my best not to get angry about it... and for the most part I don't. What's the point? The point is he now is telling me stuff - even stuff he knows I won't like... he will say, you probably won't like this mum but... and the other day I asked him - is it something I will like or something I will think you're silly for doing and he said you'll probably think I was silly. I've told him that I might not always like how dad does things either he's still his dad and he needs to show respect to him. He knows that he can talk to me to get it off his chest but that I can't necessarily fix what his issue or problem is but that it's better to get it out than to keep it all bottled up. Slowly but surely I think that the calm approach with teens seems to work... well it does mostly...lol. Don't get me wrong though there are days when I could do a Homer Simpson and just strangle him but then the next day he will be the nicest kid you know.