Long House Rules

So a couple months ago I was watching some videos online about discipline in the house. I had come to this point where I was about to give up on this time-out thing. Most of the time I am thankful for my little ones, but occasionally the thankfulness needs a little more encouragement to show its face. Sometimes my kids (daycare and blood related) drive me nuts.

I am not sure what it is that makes kids naturally want to inflict pain on one another, but it is inevitable that somewhere around two years old all of my daycare kids have gone through a phase of biting, kicking, punching, hitting, pinching, yelling or all of the above. They will be sweet little angels while I'm in the room, but if I dare to go to the bathroom I can bet I will find someone crying when I get back.

So now on my third round of two year olds (three of them this time) I am once again looking online for a magical answer to rid my kids of their desire to see what happens if they hurt their friends. While looking at these videos I came across a Duggar family clip. Of course you can't search for anything about kids without coming across that Duggar clan! So I watched a little snippet on how they discipline and their "Family Rules" . It was not the first time I had seen Family Rules but I did see some new wording in theirs that I thought might get through to my kiddos.

So I set out to create my own list of the most important rules for our family to follow. I wrote this list six weeks ago. I compiled rules to cover all of the discipline areas we were having problems with and even had my husband put in his two cents. Once I was done I sat down my little munchkins and read them the list. With each one I gave them examples and answered their questions.

At first I thought they weren't getting it, but slowly I began to hear them repeat the rules. One would hit the other and instead of an all out brawl starting the victim would say "Never raise a hand to hit." It was great. So I continued to read them the list and repeat the rules as a reminder every couple of days. In addition I would repeat the rule any time they broke it. For example, if Tyson kicked a friend I would say "Tyson, never raise a foot to kick. Please apologize to your friend."

So far so good! These rules have been a stepping stone to peace in this house. The kids are much less likely to be fighting, stealing toys or causing a ruckus :) I am a believer in family rules and I am going to keep practicing this plan for as long as it works. I would definitely suggest that you sit down with your family and set some ground rules for your home too. Hopefully it brings peace to your family too :)

In case you were wondering what our list looks like, here they are (feel free to use them in your home):

House Rules:

1.       Be Thankful for what you receive.  

2.      Obey your parents. (The first time I say it, You obey it)  

3.     Always use soft words, even when you don’t feel well.

4.     Use walking feet.

5.      Forgive your friends before you get angry.

6.     Use inside voices.

7.      Tell the truth at all times.

8.     Clean up messes.

9.     Treat others like you would like to be treated.

10.  Always display kind actions, even when you have been mistreated.

11.    Never tattletale unless physical harm will come to someone.

12.   Never raise a hand to hit.

13.  Never raise a foot to kick.

14.  Never raise an object to throw.

15.   Never raise a voice to yell.

16.  Never raise an eye to scowl.

17.   Use one toy/activity at a time.

18.  Make serving others a priority.

19.  Respect your belongings. (don’t climb on furniture or break toys)

20.Have fun and be happy!! J