There comes a time to just put an end to dumb behavior.
That seems to be a fact of life when you’re the dad or the mom.
In my case, I finally got tired of complaining and lecturing about the wasteful way we use our HVAC equipment. I’m not exactly a penny pincher as much as I just hate to see waste of any kind. And the way my kids were treating the HVAC equipment and the thermostat had to end. There were days that I’d come home from the office to see doors left wide open during the height of summer. I mean just wide open with the thermostat set in the low 70’s. This sort of thing would nearly make me just lose my mind. However, I’m not big on screaming and yelling at my kids. That’s how my parents treated me and it wasn’t great and caused me some problems down the road. So while I don’t holler and curse my kids over dumb HVAC behavior, my talking to them about it wasn’t getting anywhere. Finally, I had had enough. I called the HVAC company and asked them to send out and HVAC technician to install a smart thermostat. Not only will this thing precisely manage the HVAC better than I ever could. There is a code for manual operation of the smart thermostat that only I hold. I hate to admit that it was sort of excellent when the thing first went in and nobody but me could adjust the thermostat setting. But that’s what happens sometimes when talking and pleading get a parent nowhere.