google-site-verification: google25a08fc65649193e.html Living in Mommywood: Establishing Rules for our Children

Wednesday, July 13, 2016

Establishing Rules for our Children

Hey everyone! Can you believe we are midway through July? Summer gives way to parents loosening up on some of there daily routines I thought I'd revisit one of my favorite topics, House Rules.

Rules should...
  • be tested, broken and amended accordingly. 
  • nothing should be followed blindly or set in stone.
This is part of our kids journeys as they grow up but parents, let’s make things easier on ourselves. We need to learn to establish and stick to the rules we set and amend them when needed and as our children get older.

illustration by pinterest.com

These were some of my house rules:
  • Homework is always first, then playtime.
  • Must have breakfast every morning
  • Bedtime was 8 pm, after 6th grade it increased by an hour.
  • Sleepovers were only allowed if I knew the parent and had visited their home at some point, even if to drop off for a play date. This was amended as my daughter became a teen.
  • No last minute request to stay over at friends house or to go visit a friends house, period. Always required ample time to gather all information.
  • No friends in the room with door closed. This rule was amended after 6th grade.
Lil mama and I speak on this often and she comments about how necessary rules are even when our kids rebel. She states how grateful she was for having them because they kept her focused and out of trouble.

Do you feel that the same rules apply across the board at all ages and for all things? Are there rules with no exceptions?

illustration by indietabletop.net

My perspective is we must embrace flexibility, allow our children the right to question our rules and express their feelings on them. Nothing is set in stone and each child is different so for the best outcomes we should be willing to compromise.

Are there rules with no exceptions? What are some of your rules? Do you recall the rules your parents had for you and how are they different or the same for your child(ren)?

Always stress free xo,
Mari

5 comments:

  1. Awesome post! Truly! I always stress to my kids to be kind and remember that everyone is running a hard race. :)

    Thanks for the inspiration today!
    karianne

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  2. I've soften up a bit as it pertains to "rules" especially with the younger kids. There was a time when I was pretty gun ho with the belt and hard core punishment(thanks to old fashioned ideology smh) I do share similar beliefs when it comes to the early development of children and their baseline values of what is important and how it will benefit them in the long run. Bedtime,proper meals,chores,knowing friends and their parents or guardian is all paramount in my book. It gets so hard sometimes when you still want to be "cool" and not come off as the tyrant but experience and intuition guides us to know what's best for our little person. I urge all parents of young and older children to really reasses your "rules" do they still apply in today's society and can you bend break or rewrite them based on situations? I am such a work in progress😅

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  3. John as always thanks for stopping by and we all are a work in progress lol which is an awesome thing! I feel we can achieve much better results if we learn to work together and tweak instead of always dictating. Granted some situations are more serious than others but continued open dialogue is great way to go. Many of us dealt with old school way parents, myself included. I just made sure I did the total opposite so far so good :)Thanks for stoping by.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love this post! I have a 16 month old baby girl and a 9 year old stepson. Both, have been testing boundaries lately. I def. agree with the bedtimes and also not going over to someones house unless you know that person. Even then, I'm a little iffy because you never know....

    I'm Katie Visiting from Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop!
    Also, your newest follower :)

    Would love it if you would stop by

    Simply Mama of 2!

    http://simplymamaof2.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Katie welcome! Appreciate the support :) any little bit helps when it comes to order I learned. It helps in the long run and they add up to much needed stress free living. Going to visit you right now ! :)

      Delete

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