I don't know how common it is, but I keep files on my kids' stuff. My grandfather did that for me, before I understood it, and he gave me my file after the birth of my first son.
 
He kept the cards I had drawn for him when I was little. He kept the letters I wrote him and grandma when we moved away. He kept the drawings and the silly captions I would put on them. He even kept my report cards!
 
When my oldest son started drawing, I did the same thing. I've done it for my nieces and nephews, too, although I don't have quite the same amount of paperwork!

Every so often, you have to clean out stuff that mattered at one time, but now has no relevance. If you don't, you would have to rent a storage shed! Believe me, macaroni art is awful cute until you discover what happens to it ten years down the road. Not enjoyable, let me just say that.
 
When you practice this, you will see opportunities in the boredom of a child. Give them a topic when they "are so BORED" they just mope. They don't just go for it, you have to encourage them. Take out the readily available paper at the kitchen table, or coffee table, and start writing something, then pass it over and tell them to take turns. Have them draw a picture about it.

The thing is, teenagers aren't so easily motivated. They're not out to please us! I've learned that the earlier you start this, the more natural it is to them, even though they won't admit it. They'll loosen up. Give it a try.

In my house, when I play the "mean mom", I decide that the TV is just not going to be on for the evening. They fuss, but soon my house is filled with guitar chords, and music that is being written, and re-written by my sons in two different rooms. My daughter draws and doodles and writes about boys in her room with the music on, in a journal I'm not supposed to know about.

I can't wait till I can show them all the stuff they have created! They don't care now, but one day it will help them remember who they are. One day, they will have mercy on their own little darlings because of the file I share with them about their own life. Their songs and poetry and prose won't all be roses, be prepared for that, but it is all instrumental.

Scroll down and tell me how you encourage your teens to practice their writing skills.

 My son was working on an essay last night. As usual, he didn't give himself a lot of time to work on it. It was only one page, but the topic amused me, and I found myself thoroughly enjoying his perspective and ability to write about it.

The topic was "cell phone use in school". Funny how that is one of my pet peeves to begin with, but he's a junior in high school who refuses to buy one for his own reasons. 

He notices how the kids don't pay attention in class anymore. That was pretty obvious to me during Wednesday night youth group already, but I was surprised how emphatically he renounced the use of cell phones for that reason. See, to someone who can tell, and way too many of us can't, using phones at school is blatantly rude.

Here you have teachers who are already overwhelmed by lack of participation by the kids and their parents, and skeptical of their ability to penetrate those thick teenage skulls, and they, like many parents, are now competing with an uninvited third party for attention. Not in the selfish sense, but competing because they know how distracted our youth are becoming, and how dangerous that is, and how important it is to prepare them for what lies ahead. College administrators now say that the kids entering local community colleges do not have college level reading, writing, and math skills. That can mean several semesters of developmental courses they must pay for just to start credit earning courses.
 
Kids think school lasts forever, anyway. Trying to get them prepared for a competent adult life is like chewing glass. It may not kill you, just hurt real bad. They don't want it, and when no one is actively limiting distractions, the results are sad at best. My son wonders how the staff ignores the constant use he sees around him. Most kids these days can look you in the eyes and text several friends at the same time. If they would use that kind of concentration on academics we might be able to find some true leadership in their generation.

The name of his piece is "Communication Catastrophe", and he also sites the epidemic of video recording school fights. He remarks, "It is ridiculous how we have come to a point in time where it is "uncool" to try and break up a fight. Now the right thing to do is whip out your cell phone and capture the whole thing on video."

 I asked him if he could remember the last time it was important to break up a fight, he said, "middle school, in high school no one wants it to stop." What a comentary.

 We need to wake up, people. If that's not a good enough reason for an all out ban on cell phone use at school, there isn't one. It's not the responsibility of the faculty either, most of them are looking the other way because the parents aren't supporting them. They can tell the kids not to bring them, even take them away, but parents need to step up and get a hold of those phones before school, even if it's difficult.
What do you think about cell phones in school?

It's not the same, is it? It's one thing to raise your kids at a job outside the home, some even feel guilty that they're not home more often. But when you work from home, it's a whole new ball game. You never GET to leave.

If you waited till they were older to begin your career, like I did, you realize the unique stresses involved when they've begun to take you for granted and don't think you deserve to be left alone with a thought.  Promoting yourself is quite a challenge anyway, but add a couple of kids who have been used to your immediate appearance at their beck and call, and you'll learn quickly to teach them some independence.

This blog is for you, work at home parents. Let's share. I want to hear some of your hindrances, and how you dealt with them. Share your successes and how they caught you off guard and made you smile. It doesn't suck, working from home, but it takes a lot of grit to appreciate that all the little things add up to a sum total that was greater than it's parts.