My teenage daughter’s new favorite response to my “Why didn’t you?” questions is, “I guess I didn’t want to do it.” One of her age-old favorites to these types of questions was, “I don’t know.” I realize that seems to be the universal response to parents asking questions. If you happen, to be asking a “who did it” type question then I am sure that you have heard, “Not me!”

That rotten little “Not Me” seems to live in just about every home in the world. That child is responsible for more damage and missing items, including cookies, than anyone else in the world. “Not Me” isn’t even considerate enough to stay home from family vacations.

My teenage daughter who is about to turn 14, and has fetal alcohol syndrome, is the one who now always says, “I guess I didn’t want to do it.” Given her age, that is probably the truth. However, it can be very frustrating from a parent and teacher point of view.

This morning I asked to see her penmanship book. We are finishing our third week of homeschool; therefore, she should be on page 11 because we took four days off for Memorial weekend. Clearly written in permanent black marker on the front cover of the consumable workbook are the words, “do one page a day.”

I frequently use this method of assigning work so the children can’t use the, “I guess I forgot” response. It also helps me remember when I am checking their work, since I’m homeschooling five students this year and each has multiple subjects.

Another response that she uses with much drama is, “I just don’t know what is happening.” “Can’t you help me to change?”

Of course, Super Dad and I have set down with her and showed her how to use a planner and a calendar. I made one on the computer for her with her daily routine and appointments and taped it to her door. We’ve given her pocket calendars to fill out herself. She sees me looking at mine several times a day. I’ve commented aloud numerous times how I wouldn’t remember any appointments without my calendar.

When asked why she wouldn’t use it she responded, “I guess I thought it was stupid.”
We received this same response when we asked her why she wouldn’t read her sentences aloud. I had hoped that if she read her sentences aloud she would catch silly errors like using the word you instead of your.

Well she thought that was stupid, so she continues to write letters to her birth sisters and girls she met at camp full of grammatical errors. Her sisters do occasionally write back, however the girls at camp have not. This year she is doing much of her schoolwork on the computer and it won’t let her enter her responses until they are spelled correctly. Reports also need to be submitted in Microsoft word, so improvement may be coming despite her efforts to resist.

Do you have any responses that drive you nuts that you want to share?

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