Q:My mom constantly nags me about my messy room. Help me! What can I do? I am twelve years old.
A:Sometime when you and your mom are both in a good • mood, talk about it and try to come up with a compromise. On the one hand, remember that your mom wants a clean home and how much it bothers her if your room looks like Martha Stewart exploded in it. On the other hand, she needs to understand that you need a place of your own where you can enjoy your privacy.
Ask your mom what specifically bothers her about your room. Then perhaps you can work out a deal in which she grants you privacy so long as your messy room doesn’t affect the rest of your family with things such as odors that stun buffalo or noises that pop eardrums.
Maybe you can at least clean up the room a little. You may even find friends trapped under those mountains of clothes with whom you’ll enjoy getting reacquainted.
So if you both give a little, you should be able to work something out that you can each live with. Karl Haffner