Kids can be fun.

My son wants an allowance. A reasonable request, for the most part.

However, I don't believe in just giving a kid money. I have this twisted idea that they should earn it somehow. Yeah, I'm a horrible parent.

I have shown him how to wash dishes before and so I figured I would open this opportunity and I told him this morning to wash all of the dirty dishes in the kitchen.

I pointed them out.

Silverware was already in the sink, plates and bowls were stacked on the table, glasses were mostly on the table, some pans on the stove... I told him that he can do them in stages through the day while I was at work.

By now, you have probably figured out that he is a teenager.

Well, I called him when I was on the bus coming home (almost 9 hours later) to ask if he had finished. He said he had done the silverware and didn't know where the other dishes were.

I asked him if he was kidding.

He asked why I asked him that.

He also asked where the dishes were.
I told him to guess. Then I said if he couldn't guess, then go into the kitchen.

Then I told him if he wasn't washing them by the time I got home in 8 minutes, he didn't deserve to go to the rather nice high school I have him signed up for.

I came in the house and heard washing in the kitchen so I sat down in the living room. He came in a little bit after to tell me he had finished the glasses and cups.

I went into the kitchen and asked him "what are those?"

pointing to about 7 glasses and 3 cups sitting *right next to* the sink.

He had washed the ones on the table, but neglected to see the ones on the counter.

I originally wrote this over a year ago.  Little has changed.  He is still a teenager.