WFMW: breaking the rules

We always sometimes have a house of order.

Bed time is at 7pm at 8pm for the munchkins.

Dinner time is near 6pm-ish.

Naps on the weekend are just after lunch.

You are not excused from the table unless you have finished chewing that last bite in your mouth and your milk is finished.

If you do not eat all of your dinner you dont get dessert.

Brush your teeth.

Take a bath.

Toys and all other kid-centered stuff has a home...keep it there when it is not in use.

No running in the house.

You catch my drift.

Of course there are those times when we have plans or there is a mini disaster and we get way off track from our original plan.

When that happens we just make the best of it and hope everyone ends up with full bellies and a pillow under their head when they crash.

The best way to keep the rules is to break your own rules every now and then.

Let them stay up late to watch the end of a show or movie or to finish that game with you.

Let them have ice cream when they didnt finish all of their chicken at dinner.

Have breakfast for lunch or dinner.

Make dinner a potluck of (healthy) snacks instead of a traditional meal.

Showing your children that you can bend is the best way for them to respect the rules. They understand then that the rules are important and that they are meant to be followed and it also shows them that the adults in the family know how to have fun still too.

This has worked in our house in the best way. The kids know to follow the rules but they also know that we are able to bend them when necessary.