There is a difference between parents and children.  Parents and caretakers are (and should be) separate from the kids they take care of.

• Parents on top, kids down below
• You are separate from your child.   You are not friends or equals.
• Kids do not get a vote in your decisions about rules, consequences or how the house should run.

Rules are the basis of what we want to see happen in our home, with our family.  The best rules give us a chance to see success (or failure) without having to guess whether they have been done.

Kids do well when rules give them exact behaviors to master  Ex. “Brush your teeth by 8:30 pm”.  Clear, to the point and understandable.

What do you do when a rule is broken?

Every time a rule is broken something has to happen to remind and teach your child what to do next time.

If you don’t enforce consequences, you can throw your rules out the window—no one will follow them.

Kids best super powers are temper tantrums, public embarrassment and holding out until you give up.  They have no other way of being in charge.  Every time they stop us from being in charge, they become are equals or worse yet—OUR BOSSES!