House Rules

It has come to my attention recently that I need to perfect the discipline style of our house. Ryan and I have the same goal for our girls - to be happy, healthy and treat others with respect. We have a slightly different style of teaching this and then when you throw other people into the mix, I think the girls get confused about what is expected of them and what they can "get away with!"  I have a tendency to get frustrated, disappointed and yes, even, angry when the girls are misbehaving. A friend of mine recently shared an article about how this reaction to them not following the rules is very detrimental to getting the girls to obey and behave. It got me to thinking about how things are done in the Ellington house and I realize I have been a little lazy when it comes to this area. So I have decided that as a family we are going to come up with Ellington House Rules that everyone in the family will be expected to follow. I think involving the girls in this process will be great for Taylor. I don't think there will be any real surprises there, but making it a little more formal I think will help me enforce them consistently. I don't want to get carried away and have a ton of rules - the girls will just get confused and overwhelmed.

So here are the rules I am thinking of:
1. Respect our things and each other.
2.  Obey Mom and Dad quickly and sweetly.
3. Put things away that you take out.
4. Look for ways to be kind and helpful to each other.

I think that I could go on and on and get more specific, but this is is a good starter and most things can be covered under these.

I would love to hear about your house rules - what works, what doesn't, etc. I have a lot of enthusiasm right now and I think this will really help us all be more consistent!