House rules

Working out your house rules…

Putting some house rules in place for your kids is key to making family life way more relaxing – at last they’ll know exactly what’s expected of them… and you won’t have to sit through a chorus of “that’s not fair!’ or ‘Dad lets us do it’!

Your house rules can be pretty general, such as ‘no shouting’ or ‘no swearing’. What’s important is that everyone in the house agrees to stick to them, leaving your home to run more smoothly as a result…

Step 1: Choose your rules

Decide on 10 realistic rules which you and your child agree you can stick to. It’s important to compromise and not to get hung up on small things that don’t really matter inn the scheme of things.

Step 2: Write them out

Write out your rules out and stick them somewhere you and your kids can see them – it’s important they’re handy for you to refer your child to if she’s not sticking to them.

Step 3: Make them age-appropriate

Keep in mind exactly what your child is capable of depending on her age. Make it easier for your young child to follow the rules by using pictures or symbols to indicate ‘no hitting’ or ‘no biting’.

Step 4: Praise them when they follow the rules

Refer to the rules when you’re going about your daily routine, and remember to praise your kids when they do follow the house rules.

Step 5: Be consistent

Don’t change the rules to fit your needs at any  one time – if you don‘t respect them your child may feel cheated and break them.

The house rules technique helps you send a message loud and clear to all the family: these are the boundaries, don’t cross them! Individual discipline problems, such as bad behavior at mealtimes, might be better dealt with in a reward chart, which tailors a program of rules more to the child or children (check out Supernanny’s great selection of print-and-color reward charts).

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