House Rules

Things can kind of get crazy around our house. At times, things run so smoothly and are so peaceful, and there are others (lots others), where I feel like a broken record:

"No hitting, please."
"No throwing, please."
"No coloring on the walls!"
"Absolutely no talking back!"

Etc.

I was getting frustrated. Adam was getting frustrated because there were just so many rules (in his opinion). I also didn't want to have to tell him every single thing to do. I read a book a while ago, and it basically said that you want to get your kids to think for themselves; that if we tell them every thing to do, and expect them to obey each and every thing, they become robotic in a sense, and when someone tells them to steal or do drugs, it will be in their nature to obey. I want him (and Grace) to learn to think for themselves.

So, I've been looking around, and I came across a blog (ugh... not sure where or whose it was, sorry), that explained that in their family, they only had 2 house rules, and how well it works for them. It was exactly what I've been looking for. Tonight we talked about our new system for FHE, and I know that it's going to help.

Our House Rules:
1) Be safe.
2) Be polite.

That's it.

Every rule I can think of, falls under those categories. And if it doesn't, then maybe I shouldn't be saying 'no.' You know? I want my kids to think for themselves. To keep the rules because it makes them happy. Not because of punishment or yelling or being told a million times. And, I want to say 'yes' more to things that are okay.

I'm very, very happy about our new rules. I think it's going to make things a lot easier around here. From now on, when something happens, we will talk about whether that was safe or polite and what should have been done. The same goes for Mike and I; we should all be safe and polite.

Hopefully, things will be a lot more peaceful around here. :)