[FONT=""][COLOR=""][SIZE=""][FONT=""][COLOR=""][SIZE=""]my family has been pretty tense lately. we've often had arguments that can leave everyone in a bad mood for a day or too but recently i feel like it's been worse than usual. i think the root cause of the issue is my sister and i. we are 17 and 14 and, to be honest, are a little bit immature. my mother recently started working full time 6 months ago and our home life has changed quite a bit since she has been a full time housewife since i was born. due to this my sister and i aren't as independent as other kids our age. since she started working we've been taking it in turns to sort out the dishwasher before she gets home and cook dinner twice a week. it's a pretty simple job but more often than not we'll forget to wash up one item or not completely finish a task we've been asked to do or the house will be generally untidy. i am usually good at making sure everything is done and rarely cause issues but my sister has a habit of leaving everything till last minute (i.e 15 minutes before my mother gets home) or leaving things lying around the house. this stresses her out a lot as she gets home and tasks are not finished. i try to make sure everything is finished but having to chase up my sister is a pain. my mother and my sister tend to get into arguments a lot because my sister is messing around or hasn't done what she's supposed to do. she also has to be asked multiple times to do something she should have done already. studying is also an issue as it has taken her until recently to start regularly studying for her exams next year (she often leaves revision or homework until the night before). often these arguments end with everybody in an irritable mood. when my mother gets angry and stressed, she often stays in a bad mood towards everyone including my father who hasn't done anything wrong, sometimes up to 2 days. over the last 3 or 4 months they have increased in frequency and she often says that she wishes she didn't have us as a family. before i used to think she was only saying it because she was angry but i feel more and more that she genuinely means it. she has said repeatedly that she no longer loves my sister and that she regrets wasting her life on us. i know we need to be more responsible and minimise the stress we cause but i am less organised and responsible compared to other people my age as my mother has always been doing the housework with occasional help from us. no matter the number of times my father and i talk to my sister about not causing a fuss and making sure she doesn't leave everything in a mess or causing trouble she never seems to understand and insists on pouring oil on the fire by arguing or answering back with attitude (laughing or singing when she gets told off instead of apologising for her mistakes). when we all get along it's always good fun and i hate the fact that these occasions are getting fewer and fewer. sometimes i wonder if it's just my family that is like this. i know that i am also partially responsible and that it is not all my sister but what can i do to get her to stop winding up my mother and causing unnecessary friction? she never admits it as her fault and constantly says that our parents are 'strict' or that my mother gets angry 'unreasonably' despite her constantly pushing the boundaries. how can i make our home life happier?[/size][/color][/font][/size][/color][/font]