Preteens often have trouble understanding the phrase "pick up your room." Somehow their young minds hear this as "blah blah blah." This can easily result in your losing your patience, and perpetuating a very frustrating cycle. Take heart! The parents of preteens on iVillage have some proven ideas to motivate kids.

Help Prioritize
• "I use Post-It notes on my daughter's door to list three or four things I want her to do, and this really helps. She told me she likes the lists and even crosses each job off when it's done. I have found it helps to make the jobs specific so it's not so overwhelming. Instead of 'clean up your room,' I write, 'pick up all your dirty clothes and put them in the hamper,' 'vacuum carpet in your room,' or whatever needs doing most. I have even tried lists of homework when she got behind and had so much to do that she didn't know where to start. She helped me write down all the assignments she hadn't finished and I told her just to start from the top and do one at a time, not to worry about the others until one was done. Once we made the list she saw that it really wasn't going to take as long as she thought."