Welcome to the Not Just a Mom Link Up hosted by myself, Adrienne, Jen, Joanne, Lauren, and Sarah! This month, we are sharing our house rules. Funnily enough, I wrote a post on this topic back in 2019! It was fun to look back on it and see what rules are still the same and which have changed as the kids have gotten older.
1. Last time I started out by talking about our snack rule – only 4 snacks a day and they can’t be the same type of snack that you already ate. Now that they are older, they are more able to take care of themselves as far as taking snacks and not filling up on them before dinner, etc. so I don’t police them as much anymore, thankfully! I do need to keep track of what they are eating and finishing so I can continue to have those snacks in the house!
2. Last time I said that if the kids want to stay up past their bedtimes, they have to be reading. This has gone by the wayside, sadly. Our general bedtime rule now is that they are supposed to say goodnight to me by 9 and after that they can be in their rooms quietly – besides for Simon, who needs to actually go to sleep pretty soon after that. The older kids are not good at remembering to say good night to be by 9 and Zachary is supposed to be in the shower right after that, but he usually delays on that!
3. I’m glad to report that cleaning up after themselves has gotten better and they all usually remember go clear their own places after eating! I would like Gabbie to wash her own dishes when she eats later than the rest of us. She only does this some of the time. As far as keeping their rooms clean, Simon is the worst at this and I often end up picking up his things. Gabbie is also pretty messy, but she will clean up once in awhile!
4. One device at a time – that’s not a thing anymore. Both boys are likely always on their computers and their phones at the same time!
5. No acting crazy in the car – they have settled down and I don’t usually have to remind them of this! Simon will occasionally spot a car that he is excited about and will say “WHAT is THAT!?” really loudly and distract me though! As far as newer rules, now that Gabbie is driving, she is supposed to tell me where she is going and I don’t like her to take more than 2 people with her at a time, plus Zachary. Last week she was told specifically that the 2 people that asked her for a ride was the limit, and then she told another friend she could have a ride too! I was annoyed.
6. Last time I said the kids aren’t supposed to climb on each other or hang on each other. They still do this sometimes. I do often have to tell the boys not to punch, kick, and pinch each other. The rule is to keep hands to ourselves!
7. Talking one at a time is still an issue! I can’t listen to two separate stories at the same time. I often have to interject and help them take turns talking!
8. I’m surprised that last time I didn’t say that homework is supposed to be done first before TV, computers, etc. They don’t follow that rule anymore anyway. My older two kids are fine doing their work without my reminders. I can’t wait till Simon can keep track of what needs to get done too. I feel like if I didn’t remind him, he’d be doing everything just at bedtime the night before it’s due. I had mentioned the grades I like my kids to get and how if they weren’t doing well in school they wouldn’t be punished, but we’d help them improve. That is what we are trying with Simon, although he is definitely still struggling.
9. Listening to us without argument – that’s still a rule and that’s still hard for them!
10. Last time I concluded with what I considered our family motto: Things are fun if you make them fun. I don’t find myself saying this so often anymore. It is hard for me when I want to have a fun time with the whole family but the kids aren’t interested and sulk the whole time. At this point, I’d rather just let them stay home. So I guess this is more a rule for me – let them opt out as needed!
If you wrote a post about your house rules, you can link up with us here and come back next month when we share a weekend edition of a day in the life!
What are some of your house rules?
