This is Ask Lisa, a podcast to help people understand the psychology of parenting, now in the midst of a pandemic.

Psychologist Dr. Lisa DeMore, author of two New York Times best-selling parenting books, takes your questions.

And I'm co-host, Rina Ninan, a journalist and mom of two.

Some of what we talk about comes from raising children ourselves. Most of the time, I'll be getting

answers to your parenting questions. So send your questions to Ask Lisa at Dr.Lisademore.com.

Episode 40, my kid's room is a hot mess.

What should I do?

I'm looking around my office and I can see stacks of papers, manila folders, thrown all over, books.

And I see your beautiful, office and I'm wondering what

did I do wrong as a child to not understand organization. Oh, Rina, you know, it's so funny. For me,

I can't think if it's not tidy. Like that's the only way I can think. But I also know there are lots of

brilliant people, you among them, who operate fine with what looks like chaos to me. And so,

you know, my attitude is, like, in adulthood and also in parenting, there are a lot of ways

to get it right. Yeah. I need Marie Kondo and Speed Dial. Is she still in eternity,

lose? Like, I need her back. You know, we got this letter from his mom who talks about her

kid's messy room. That's kind of what God is thinking about this. It says here,

Hi, Dr. Lisa. I need your help with a challenge I'm facing with my teenage daughter. Her room

is a hot mess. Can't even go in there without walking on top of

stuff. She's a fantastic, beautiful kid who has major problems with the organization. I'd appreciate

any thoughts on how to help her start developing new behaviors because the way she keeps her room

drives me absolutely crazy. Thank you in advance for your consideration on this.

Yeah. A lot of parents can identify. Yeah, this mom is not alone. There is no question about that.

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