Out of control teens. Anyone have an idea for an effective consequence?

My daughter's mom has out of control teens. I guess they've finally brought her to her breaking point, and she's ready to listen to my ideas.Years ago, when we were together, I learned how to discipline them. Write easy to understand, related consequences for breaking the rules on a poster in the kitchen. No pain, blame, or shame. Be consistent.Her problems were staying consistent, and feeling bad/giving in when they were in emotional distress from consequences. She had this thing where she thought their emotional distress meant she was being a bad mom. I think she's willing to try to get over those issues now. But at the time, I couldn't do it alone so it never got done. It would have worked back then, when time outs were an option.Now they're teenagers, and we've decided that being mean is the #1 rule she needs to focus on. However, I'm struggling for an idea for a related consequence. She needs something that she can sling at them when her hands are full of groceries, or she's cooking dinner and dealing with a million things at once. Something she can say to them that will instantly drop them to their knees in emotional distress, so they eventually hate being mean, rather than liking it as they do now. Something that will be easy for her to stick to.I don't even care if it's directly related, as long as it's effective.They each have one Kindle, one laptop from school, and they share a DVD player and Xbox. They don't have cable or internet. I don't think losing any of these would be effective, although maybe someone else has some insight.My best idea so far is to have them hold books for a period of time, but now they're so big, they'll probably just throw the books. She doesn't have the physical advantage she once had. Plus, she'd have to manage them while they're doing it, which isn't always possible when she's busy.She's really at her breaking point now, and it would help my daughter's quality of life immensely if they were to get this resolved.Any ideas for an effective consequence? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2c7Yx8W