How to Ground Your Teen--21st Century Style.

Thing 1 has missed the bus every single day for the last week.

That is completely unnerving, seeing how it picks her up at our front door.

When she misses the bus, it throws the rest of the house into chaos and everyone else misses the bus, too.

I was at my wits end last Friday when I saw that piece on CBS News about Technology Grounding. I felt pretty good because I was already doing a lot of  it (hello mr. f zone).

I was having a hard time coming up with a consequence for missing the bus. I mean how the heck do you punish someone who can't make it to the bus? I really was having a difficult time with this one.

I tried having her "buy" a ride but that only lasted as long as her money lasted. Which wasn't very long.

I tried having her do an extra chore BEFORE I took her to school but that was a horrid, horrid mess.

Nothing I could think of was motivating her to make that big, yellow taxi.

Then it hit me.

Her cell phone.

She has that thing glued to her hand.  She is never without it. When it wasn't working recently, she actually cried because "how am I supposed to eat lunch with my friends if I don't have my cell phone?!"

Ding Ding Ding!  We have a winner! 

The new rule in Crazyland: Every day that she misses the bus, she has to go to school without her cell phone.

It's a huge inconvenience for me to have to drop everything and take her to school and as such, she can be inconvenienced too.

She hasn't missed the bus once since we instated this new rule.

I freaking LOVE Technology grounding.