Rules your children follow

dosa_chick · July 4, 2014, 11:43pm

Re: Rules your children follow

What rules do you have for your kids at home? And what Dos/Don’ts do they have when going out specially to someone’s house?
My rules at home are very simple.

1)Absolutely no eating or drinking outside the kitchen area, no food or snacks allowed in the living room/bedrooms/playroom etc.

You eat what is put in front of you or stay hungry. I don’t put up with nakhray lol. It won’t hurt them to stay hungry for 1 night.

If I have to tell you more than 3 times to pick something up, it goes in the trash. And I’m firm on this. I don’t do empty dhamkis. When they saw put a trash bag of their toys on the curb they learned real fast! Mashallah, now they clean up after themselves.

When going to someones house, my children know what is expected of them behavior wise. From a young age, I’ve always told them/taught them they when they leave our house, whether it’s going to school or whatever, they are a representation of our family and it’s their duty to uphold our family’s name.

**2) How did/do you ensure your child does not have excessive (or no) sodas/carbonated drinks/sweets/chocolates?
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Very Simple. We don’t keep sodas in our house at all. They don’t see us drinking them or ordering them at restaurants. Sometimes at a dawat or wedding etc they are allowed to have a Coke but the intake is monitored strictly. Same with candies/sweets…I don’t keep any at home. If they get some from a goodie bag or something at birthday party for example, then yes, I allow them to eat them but in moderation.

**3)- lately, kids have an obsession with phones/ipads etc. Ipad i am okay with since there isnt much they can do home so indoor games is okay but phone NO NO! But how does it happen practically?

**All of our tablets/ipads etc have parental locks on them. After a certain programmed time, the kids can’t even log in For Xbox, they have set times during the day they are allowed to play. Summer vacations I’m more relaxed on these rules, but during the school year, they are not allowed any “screen time” M-F, unless they need to use something for homework. Weekends they can play unrestricted as long as their chores are completed and rooms are clean.

**4- Some mothers really try their best to control their children but still their children misbehave and embarass by being very stubborn in what they want. How do you handle it?
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Kids will be kids. There is no denying that. Even the most well behaved child will have his/her moments. How I handle it is by handling it! If we’re at a party or dawat or out shopping and my child has a melt down or is misbehaving then I stop what I’m doing/cut out my own socializing and deal with my child. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to leave a grocery store with a cart full of groceries left unpaid, or pulled over into an empty parking lot while driving to deal with my kids fighting in the back seat or left my own group of friends at a party to deal with my child misbehaving. The key is you have to be consistent in what you do. You can’t give empty threats or say something and not follow up on it. If my kid can’t get his act together and behave, we all leave. Simple as that.

**My baby is very small .. But there is no harm putting habits in place from the start. Thanks -
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Again, just be consistent in the expectations you set and you’ll be fine!

YES YES YES to all of the above, and sooner parents start reinforcing the rules the quicker and earlier kids understand and follow them.

parenting is hard, well actually good parenting is hard, and parents have to lead by example. My son is almost 7 and I have so many dilemmas on daily basis but I dont give up and being consistent is the key, because when parents send mix messages kids get confused.