Introduction
The teen years are an awkward time for them as well as their parents. While teens try to figure out who they are, parents get busy figuring out what happened to their child they were holding in their arms just yesterday. We know it’s a common experience for parents; the house often falls into chaos no matter how hard you try to maintain discipline.
But have you ever wondered how schools manage to get most students in line despite each of them being a terror at home? Well, that’s the power of home rules! While kids don’t develop reasoning abilities until 5 or 7, they instinctively follow the home rules when enforced in the right manner.
Therefore, to keep that circus controlled at your home as a parent, you need to establish and enforce a simple list of home rules. But please make sure the home rules that you set for them do not curb their freedom and creativity. We understand deciding on strict yet smooth home rules for teenagers is indeed a stressful job.
10 Most Effective House Rules for Teenagers
Parenting a teenager requires an acute balance between giving them enough guidance to ensure they are making healthy choices and giving them enough freedom to make mistakes. If you are unable to find out the most effective home rules for teenagers- be it 13 or 18 years old, we have a quick fix for your problem. Keep reading!
Rules to Do Their Chores All by Themselves
Remember that you are a family and a team as well. From using the same toilet papers, same driveaway, to accumulating trash, you and your teens stay in the same house. This means you all have to dig in and help out. Because using your own hands solely for anything won’t help the ship run smoothly for long. Most teenagers don’t take the initiative to fold their own laundry or take out the trash. So, as parents, do remind them of it. Not daily, but once.
Rules to Develop Healthy Habits
It goes without saying that healthy habits lay down the foundation to build discipline for more complicated tasks as a child grows older. To help them do their best, you need to get your children accustomed to a routine for the day. Healthy habits also reduce power struggles with your children because when they know that they have to arrange all their belongings back at the right place, they would know the consequences of violating teenage home rules.
Rules to Earn Back the Broken Trust
Before you set this home rule for teenagers, dear parents, please let them know that if they break a home rule, they have to go back to the end of the line and start building their trust again. This is how it works. There are no get-out-of-jail-free cards sitting in the junk drawer for you to hand them.
Rules Centered on Morality
Morality plays a big role in shaping the type of person your teens grow up to become. Therefore create such home rules for teenagers that would instill moral values in your teens. The simplest ones include “Tell the truth” and “Apologize when you do wrong.” Morality also has a strong influence on how well they adhere to the home rules set by you. Of course, your behavior matters a lot in setting an example for them. They grasp more from what you do than what you preach, so your moral standards eventually trickle into your teenagers.
Rules to Give Prior Information While Going Out
This is quite a tricky home rule to impose if you have a stubborn teenager at home. The chances are that they may feel grown-up and want to make their own decisions. While they have the right and freedom to choose what is right for them, you must initially set a few home rules and guide them to ensure their safety.
- For example, if they plan an outing with friends, please set a home rule to inform you.
- For any reason, if they are running late, ask them to call you and inform them of their whereabouts.
Be careful while imposing these home rules, as they might take these as restrictions. So, it’s better to explain to them these home rules for their security, and you would step back as soon as you gain confidence in their decision.
Rules to Acknowledge and Respond
This home rule will help you promote healthy conversations between you and your teen. This should not be a home rule, though, but you need to explain that whenever you are talking to them, they need to respond, whether or not they agree with you. Believe it or not, this would help in promoting a healthy relationship with them.
Rule to Set a Time Limit
If allowed, teenagers would mostly prefer to return home late at night, but this is not good for their health and safety.
- So, you need to set a reasonable time limit for when they must come back home.
- Set a fixed bedtime for them for school days and holidays. However, they may not like these home rules, but ensuring that they go to bed at a particular time every day, brings discipline. Please explain why you are imposing this home rule so that they do not rebel.
Rules That Build Social Skill
Social skills are absolutely essential for the healthy development of children. You need to have home rules to teach them behavior that makes them socially desirable and acceptable by their peer group. If they have siblings, the most fundamental home rule is “share your old toys with your brother” or “take turns to play the game” or “knock before you enter a closed door.” These home rules should help them become socially acceptable and share things with others by the time they are grown up.
Rules to Stay Honest No Matter What.
Since “honesty is the best policy,” it’s high time to teach them the value of keeping it throughout their life. If you ask them why they are so late in coming home, please make sure they don’t lie to you. If they are struggling with something, ask them not to shrug it off; but share it with you. What if it’s the other way round? What if you are doing something, which is bothering them? Just teach them to speak up no matter what! Try to keep an open-door policy here. We know children don’t want to lie to their mother about things. If they do, it will break your bond. This will further stop them coming to you, and your relationship would take a nose-dive, right? So, parents, please buckle up your shoes, gear up, and tell them that you need the same honesty and trust from them as you offer them.
Rules to Be Responsible Enough to Fix Their Wrongs.
If they screw up, they have to set everything right. We all make mistakes, and we can all be forgiven. So, they do not or rather never have to worry about their parents holding a grudge against them for something they did. As parents, you have to teach them to take it upon themselves to correct wrong behavior, though. While you can play the supporting actress and help them, they should do the heavy lifting.
And What Would You Do If Rules Are Broken?
Typically parents decide the consequences of breaking teenage rules; however, it’s better if the consequences are something that is agreed upon with your teens. For example, if your child breaks one of the healthy habits of home rules with toys and playtime and you ask them the consequence, they might reply with “I guess I won’t get to play with the toy for a while.” Therefore rather than coming down on them over a broken home rule, you could go with “Looks like you have decided not to play with those toys for a while.” Children tend to be more accepting if said in the right way.
Home rules keep things together and help raise children to become responsible adults. When formulating them for infants, you can have complete control over what goes into it. However, when making house rules for teenagers, have them sit with you, and draw clear boundaries. We believe these above ten super strong yet smooth home rules for teenagers are the best parenting idea in today’s generation. Successful parenting will be much easier, especially for teens, when you use these home rules.
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