I am a big fan of creating family rules. What I’m talking about is this: What is important to your family? What makes you different from the other families on your street? What values, customs, traditions are essential for you to pass on to your kids? I often encourage families with whom I work to outline a few (like 3-5) rules for their family that can serve as guidelines when it comes to big decisions like how to spend money or discipline children.
As I believe so strongly in defining rules for our families, I was thrilled to see some rules posted at a friend’s house recently:
I was inspired at the thought that went into the guidelines and how they reflected what I know to be important to her family (and also how creative she was at displaying them!).
One of the neatest thing about developing your own family rules is that the process can be a family affair. Get the kids involved and take your time choosing just the right words to reflect your family’s values. Most importantly: have fun (hmmm…maybe that’s a family value of mine?)!
Some other ideas of family rules to get your started:
- Exercise your body, drink plenty of water, and eat fruits and vegetables everyday
- Treat all people with respect – even if you don’t understand or agree with what they are doing
- Incorporate your faith into everything you do
- Use kind words and actions at all times