Sometimes being a parent is all about manipulation.
I know this sounds harsh, but the truth is that you have to be emotionally wily to raise a hoard of teenagers.
It’s been difficult to figure out the best mind games to play with my kids, but I have made quite a bit of progress with my son and daughter in the last few years. The key is to think like a teenager would and try to anticipate all of their shifty behaviors. I know that as a teenager I was always trying to find a way to sneak out of the house at night. I absolutely hated staying in my room when my friends were out doing cool stuff. As a result, I snuck out all the time. Knowing this, I decided it was time to install AC window units on my kids bedroom windows. Rather than trying to keep them inside through blatant measures I decided to give them advanced indoor air temperature control units as a sneaky route. You see, my kids love to complain about the indoor air temperature. They are convinced that they have it terribly because we can’t operate the central cooling system all day long. When I tell them that the energy bill is too expensive for Dad and I to handle, they tell me that we need to make more money to afford air conditioning. Instead of arguing with them about energy bills and HVAC ignorance I decided it was smarter to purchase AC window units for both kids. Now, they can keep cool all night long with their own personalized AC settings. Meanwhile, I know that they can’t sneak out because the air conditioning system is conveniently installed in the way.