This is why I am so fond of pool noodles. In my never ending quest to find 1001 uses for pool noodles I have discovered that they are perfect for dealing with stragglers and other uncooperative types. I have my family trained to the point where when the whining begins I start bellowing "BRING ME THE POOL NOODLE!!!" Things get really quiet and the offender gets that far away look in their eyes signaling that they are having a pool noodle beat down flash back. Some days when I sense that the mood is going to turn sour I just take a long leisurely lap around the house packing a pool noodle. That's usually enough to recalibrate the mood or prevent the perpetrator from committing further felonies.
Part of the problem of having older children is that they are faster than you, but no matter how fast they are they have yet to be able to out run one of my pool noodles tossed as a javelin. Usually I aim for their hair, which, since I have boys, they spend minutes on. If it's a cold, dry day, with the right shot you can introduce static cling to their crew cuts. Then I can spend the rest of the day tossing socks at their heads trying to get them to stick. My record is six socks on one head when one frequent offender fell asleep on the sofa. When he finally woke up he looked like a Rastafarian or a Sock-a-farian as we christened him. A couple of quick pictures with a threat to post on social media and you'll find that your teens are behaving in no time! All that due to the miracle that I call pool noodles!
So Tara, take a page from my book! The next time you are having a hard time with your herd start talking about what a wonderful behavioral modification tool pool noodles are. Yeah sure, you'll get some funny looks from the kids, but as soon as they see you packing a pair they will know something is up and think twice about misbehaving.
~NM