Moms Talk Q&A

Welcome to Moms Talk Q&A! This week's question:

My son complains about our car being messy and he's embarrassed when his friends ride with us, however our car is a mess because of him. Should he have to clean the car?

Jennifer Davis:

I would most definitely make him clean the mess up, otherwise let him continue to be embarrassed. Also, depending upon what age he is you could buy a little trash can and let him decorate it with stickers, so that way throwing things away might not be as bad. Also compliment him on how nice the car looks when he cleans up after himself and how there will be no embarrassment on his or your part for a messy car.

Terri Peters:

If your son is old enough to complain about the car being dirty, he is absolutely old enough to clean it!  A few things I do in my car to keep it clean are:  scanning the car for trash and emptying it whenever we stop somewhere where there is a trash can (i.e. grocery stores, restaurants, gas station,) being sure to take everything that does not belong in the car into the house whenever we return home, and using a car organizer to hold the kids' toys and sippy cups.  We love this organizer that I recently ordered from CSN Stores:  http://www.csnstores.com/Sunshine-Kids-30045-XW1045.html

Angee Fielder:

Absolutely!  If you son wants to ride in the car and is of age to complain, then he should definitely have to clean the car.  It should be one of his weekly chores.  Speaking of chores, if you try keeping a chore chart you may be able to find ways for him to be more proactive in cleaning the car.  For example, when I was younger I can recall that my allowance was intertwined with the chores that I did.  Child labor? Not all.  What my parents were doing was teaching how to be responsible and how to earn a "living" through hard work.  Making your son clean up the car that he messes up as a part of his weekly chores will inevitably make him a more responsible person.