When you’re raising kids, dealing with their wants and needs can take all of your energy. Often, you have little patience left when your kids start squabbling, or demanding to know why screen time is over. It’s at these points that you might snap, resulting in arguments and plenty of tears from all sides. It’s important to know that this pattern is very common and not your fault—however, there are simple things that you can do to reduce the chances of it happening over and over again. One of the best responses is to set clear house rules, which all family members are aware of and are expected to live by. Here, check out these three key house rules that could help you and your family address conflict, arguments and stressful moments in a healthier, happier way.
Rough Play By Consent
When you’ve got young kids in the home, there’s not that much point in trying to set a rule of ‘no rough play’. Almost all kids will engage in some form of wrestling, chasing, or play fighting at some point, and banning this can lead to a build-up of energy which can lead to more serious fights. Introduce the concept of ‘rough play by consent’, explaining to your kids that they can take part in rough play but only after carefully checking that the other child understands the game and wants to play too. This is especially important if you have young guests in the home, so make sure your kids are really clear on this rule and understand that when it comes to rough play, they have to accept ‘no’ as an answer.
Everyone Helps Out
Setting a rule about every member of the family doing something to help around the house, at least once a day, is a good idea once your kids are old enough to bring their dirty laundry downstairs or clear the table. It can help them to feel more of a part of things, and every so slightly more grown up, while it will remove a bit of the pressure from the adults in the house and make everything feel as if it’s running just that bit more smoothly.
Treat Everyone With Kindness
Of course, there will always be moments in family life—especially if you’ve got younger kids who argue a lot—where the ‘treat others with kindness’ rule momentarily goes out of the window. However, having regular conversations with your kids about why it’s so important to treat others kindly and modeling this to them through your interactions with your partner or other adults, can help reduce the frequency and intensity of squabbles and create a calmer, happier atmosphere in the home.