My husband is the youngest (by quite a bit) of four children so we've gotten to observe several sets of good parenting strategies. Recently his oldest sister, who is sixteen years older, was out to visit with her twin seventeen-year-old boys; their family ranches in Missouri. These are two of the best teenagers you'll ever find. They know how to hold a conversation with adults, look you in the eye, be respectful, responsible, get along with peers, and work HARD. You've never seen two boys who know more about engines (they've been taking things apart since they were eighteen months).
Their dad was raised on a dairy and gets up before the sun comes up, and he believes in gettin' up and gettin' to work. He lets the boys "sleep in" until seven, and then they're up hauling square bales, working cows, plowing fields, and fixing equipment. They have chores before and after school. When their dad had to pay a speeding ticket for one of them, the boy worked it off with extra work. The boys have time for fun, but they have responsibilities that they must take care of first, and there's not so much free time that they're coming up with trouble. When asked what their father's parenting strategy is, the unanimous answer is "have you ever seen the show Hell's Kitchen?".
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