Rules

We have a new rule in our house. I HAVE to put this in my blog, because I feel like I just made a very important discovery. The new rule is very simple. No TV in the morning before school. Sounds pretty simple, and it is, but I never realized how much time was being wasted in the morning and how frustrated I was because my kids were so tuned into the TV that they were completely tuned OUT of everything else. I would continually have to repeat myself, reminding them to eat, brush their teeth, get dressed, get shoes on, get back packs... on and on. And even though we all got up on time, we were ending up at school late over and over. So last week, my kids were being REALLY crazy, not listening to me at all, and I decided that as punishment, they should lose TV privileges for a week. All of a sudden, the mornings were easy breezy. We were on time. Without yelling! And the new rule was born.

So that got me thinking... We really don't have so many set "rules" in our house. I suppose we have some standard, unwritten rules. Like, don't hit your brother. Or put the seat back down when you are finished. Can you tell I live in a house full of boys?

We don't have a rule book, or a bunch of rules posted, like you sometimes see in classrooms at school. Do most families have this? I just realized that I don't know. Do most Moms and Dads sit down with their kids and say, "Okay, Son or Daughter, these are the rules that we need to follow in our house." Because my husband and I don't do that. We never have. And I'm thinking maybe we should.

Rules are put into effect to make our lives easier and to help us know where our boundaries are. I'm starting to see that my kids really do a lot better when I am a stricter parent, making and enforcing rules and disciplining when it is necessary. And it's not as if I am trying to "rule with an iron fist" or anything like that. If you know me, I am a pretty laid back person. And it's not like there are no rules in our house. I think there are actually lots of rules. They're just not spelled out quite as clearly as they could be.

I guess that's something for me to think about. And in the meantime, I will be enjoying my less-stressed, quieter, on-time, no yelling, less distracted, happier mornings. All because of one little rule.