How to Make Rule Following Fun in Your Family
You’ve likely seen some version of a “Family Rules” sign for sale at a local craft fair, on display at a friend’s house, or maybe even at your own home.
While such signs are a fun way to decorate, odds are very few people have ever looked at this piece of art as a family, contemplated what the rules mean to them, and talked about how the rules are followed and enforced within their own family.
Chances are, whether or not you have a “Family Rules” sign on display somewhere in your house, your family doesn’t have a set of rules they’ve agreed upon and follow.
Coming up with your own set of family rules is an effective way to set expectations from the time your children are young, and to mediate disagreements among siblings.
Next time you’re in search of a way to spend a little family time together, developing your own set of rules is a great project for a rainy day.
You might get a few groans at first, but here’s how you can turn this into a fun family project.
Explain the Process
If your family isn’t already familiar with the Family Rules style of pictures, browse online and show them what you’re talking about.
Tell them the goal is to create the Smith set of family rules so everyone can agree on what’s important to you as a family.
Get ideas of where to start from the numerous examples you can easily find online.
If you already have your own Family Rules picture hanging on the wall, start there. Go through each rule and talk about whether it’s important to your family and deserves a place on your personalized Family Rules list.
Brainstorm Your Family Rules
Using blank pieces of paper and markers, have each family member write one rule per page that she’d like to see included in your personalized version of the Family Rules.
Make this a fun discussion of things that are important to each person in the family, and obviously help the younger ones with putting their ideas into words.
Just because something is written on a piece of paper doesn’t mean it will go into the final product.
At this point you’re just getting ideas. Not everyone has to agree with everything that’s written down here.
Compiling the Final List
Once you’ve spent a good amount of time brainstorming and everyone’s had a chance to figure out and write down their ideas, go through each piece of paper and group the ones that sound similar.
Your goal in compiling the final list is to make sure the rules are general enough that everyone can agree on them and they can be easily applied.
Your kids will need heavy guidance from you at this step most likely.
Determine the ones you think can be grouped together and summarized in a few words and say something like, “It looks like from reading each of these that respecting each other’s space is important. So would everyone agree that respect each other’s space should go on our final list?”
As you’re thinking about how to summarize everyone’s ideas into general rules, think about what family values are important to you, because that’s really what you’re establishing here.
Your final list can be as long or short as you want it to be, although seven to 10 rules is generally a manageable amount.
Decide How You’ll Memorialize Your Family Rules
You really do want to have your rules on display somewhere so it’s easy to remind your kids what they are, and to discuss them when a rule is broken or well done.
If you’re even the least bit crafty, or want to give it a try, you can purchase a canvas or block of wood from your local craft store and your next family project can be painting your own wall hanging.
For most of us, this won’t turn out super professional looking, but that might give it even more meaning to the members of your family.
You could also do something as simple as decorating a piece of paper, writing the list on the paper, and posting it on your refrigerator. This is not quiet as “cool” but it does make it easy if you find the need to make changes or additions.
Once you’ve had a chance to live by the Family Rules for awhile and are confident you’ve captured your family’s belief system, you can even custom order your own professionally made sign.
Instead of just “Family Rules” the sign can start something like, “In the Smith family, we . . .” and the list of rules then follow.
Enforcing the Rules
You can use the rules to remind your children when they’re straying from a rule. Say something like, “Refusing to put away those toys because you didn’t play with them goes against our rule that we’re helpful to each other.”
You can also use the rules to encourage your kids. Try to make sure some rule about going outside your comfort zone or trying new things is included so you can help your kids set big goals in their lives and cope with failures.
Finally, you can use the rules to mediate sibling disputes. When an argument breaks out, have the kids identify what rules have been broken or are being challenged and use this as a basis for resolving things.
It helps to make the rules fun too. Remember what you’re trying to do here is instill family values that your kids can carry with them forever.
One good idea is to keep a big jar somewhere close to the rules and whenever someone breaks a rule or does a good job living a rule you can put a quarter in the jar.
Save the money to use towards some family outing or purchase.
Our Goal at Kids Party Characters
Hopefully this gives you a good idea for how to start instilling positive values in your children in a way they don’t find boring or too “grown up.” You can obviously modify this activity and build off of it in whatever ways work for your family.
At KidsPartyCharacters.com we believe in the magic of childhood and know how important it is to start setting your child up for a happy and successful life by instilling positive values and beliefs in her from a very young age.
When it’s time to live your family rules that have to do with happiness and fun, we have just what you’re looking for with a KidsPartyCharacters.com party.
We have over 200 characters for your child to choose from as his special party guest. Our characters are portrayed by trained actors who will put on an interactive show for your child and his guests.
We also have all the extras your child will love at his party, such as face painting, balloon twisting, and cotton candy.
Visit us at KidsPartyCharacters.com to see which package is right for your next party.
And be sure to connect with us on Facebook for more tips on how to raise happy, healthy kids, as well as updates on all the magic we create at children’s parties.
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