SultanOfSwing

She sounds like my daughter. She doesn't bring any food in to her room but she can trash it with toys pretty quickly.

petitefrancaise

Yeah, I was the perfect parent too before I actually became one.

My kids drive me mad sometimes, sometimes I laugh until I cry over their antics and a messy bedroom is not an issue so long as grades at school are good and they're not taking drugs! They will happily help out with chores but perhaps don't think about initiating the clear-up.

I keep the house fairly clean and tidy, their bedrooms are their concerns.

Their values? Keeping a clean house for others to admire??? No way. They work hard for their futures and I support them in that. I'd rather see "A"' for their schoolwork knowing that this hard work will give them choices when they are older.

mrken30

I have worked with many people who ask for raises for turning up to work.

SultanOfSwing

That honestly doesn't surprise me.

themadpooper

Anyone ever eaten at a fast food restaurant, particularly ones in the UK? Noticed the crap left everywhere despite there usually being garbage pales intended for you to clear up after yourself? Ever seen people spit in the street or drop their trash? Ever sat on public transport and noticed trash strewn about?

The consequences of not reminding your kids to clear up after themselves

Pulaski

I don't know why you pick on the UK, because I see plenty of restaurants in the US, mostly mid-low (Crackerbarrel and similar "fast-casual" to upper mid market chains, (say Longhorn and similar), where when a family / group leaves a table it looks like pigs have been dining - food spilled on and under the table, plates here and there, food left or picked over, napkins scattered. It is usually obvious that the restaurant staff are less than amused too - such a mess often taking two or three people 10-15 minutes to clear up the mess and return the table to a serviceable state.

It has tended to push us in the opposite direction, clearing up all the crumbs and wiping condensation rings before we leave, pulling all the plates and glasses to the end of the table, and grouping/ stacking them tidily - we rarely leave any food or scraps on the plates anyway.

SultanOfSwing

Reminding isn't the problem. It's getting it done. Have you ever tried reasoning with a 6-year-old, or a 17-year-old? It can't be done, they are incapable of reason. So I remind them all the time, and keep reminding them until it gets done, and it does get done but in the meantime it's not like their mess goes into suspended animation. It sits there, maybe for a day, maybe for a week, but it sits there. If they want to endure the punishments that go along with not cleaning up that's their lookout, but when you work all day, have two little shits at home and time to yourself is a premium, you pick your battles.

themadpooper

Traditionally, Americans tend to be tidier/more respectful of public spaces, the fact the streets are so much cleaner here is evidences of that. The average pavement is spotless in the cities I've lived in, pavements in the UK are always covered in gum, no matter where you are. The lack of respect for public spaces is a stereotype of the British, it's a running joke you see and hear a lot of in US culture. Call me a racist but the only Americans I ever see leave their trash lying about are of Latino extraction

Leslie

I officially call BULLSHIT.

Lion in Winter

OK then.

Rete

Always thought that was a sufficient reason for a raise.

Pulaski

I agree.

I wasn't sure where to start with TMP's post, but suffice to say I disagree, based on my experience and observations, with pretty much every phrase of that post. Not least US streets and highways are strewn with litter, garbage, and often much larger things that have been dumped - appliances, TV's, beds, sacks of trash, you name it, it can be found alongside the roads.

Rete

Don't know why you think this. Drive along the highways; walk the streets of NYC or its suburbs and talk to me again. I see too many people leave their food garbage on the tables in fast food places for someone else to clean up. Too many Americans have the "someone will take care of it" attitude.

BillericayDicky

Consider it done. I can think of several other things to call you too, in Spanish.

SultanOfSwing

No.

While I will concede that at least in my corner of the UK, litter was a problem, it's just as big a problem where I live here in the US. I walk around town a lot and the amount of crap dumped at the side of the road is a ****ing disgrace. And I don't know where you get the idea that it's only Latinos who dump garbage - it seems to be everyone around my way.

If you live, or have lived close to downtown or in a more upscale end of a large city like Chicago or New York, then you might find the local authorities put a bit more effort into cleaning the streets. Get out into the smaller towns and it can get quite bad.