Family Rules
Posting a list of acceptable behavior helps parents be consistent and lets children know what is expected of them.
By: Trish Kuffner, author of The Children's Busy Book
Family Rules
Posting a list of acceptable and unacceptable behavior goes a long way toward establishing a peaceful home. It helps parents be consistent in discipline and helps children know exactly what is expected of them.
Materials
- Markers
- Poster board
Directions
- Gather everyone in your family and brainstorm a list of family rules. For example, your rules might include "We speak quietly with each other," "We put others first," "We always tell the truth," and so on.
- Write the rules with a marker on poster board and let your child illustrate the poster.
- Post your family rules in a prominent place and add to them as necessary.
- When your child's behavior needs correcting, refer to the rules to reinforce that her behavior doesn't meet your family's standards and to help her understand that she's responsible for her misbehavior-it really is against the rules; it's not just that Mom or Dad is having a bad day.
- If you like, choose appropriate consequences for breaking each rule and write those down, too. This technique helps you apply discipline consistently and helps your child know what to expect when she does wrong.