I don’t need your help!

Have you guys ever said that?  Let me give you some background quickly…

I have 5 children in the house, and when you have 5 pairs of hands and feet running about, you do end up needing help at some point.  It sounds like this:

I hear myself saying this a lot during the day.  I am outnumbered and I need help.  But there is a nasty flip side of this coin.  The oldest has begun to feel like he is another parent figure and feels free to pass judgement, call names (“bad boy:”), and threaten discipline 😦  It’s a slippery slope.  I appreciate hearing that Noah is in the trash, the cleaning closet, the art supplies, the dog food… etc.  I also need to know when JJ is writing on walls again, hitting someone, throwing toys…etc.  I find myself exclaiming loudly “I don’t need your help being a parent!”

So we have some new rules in the house.  (Don’t you love making new rules, really, so many adjustments in parenting, nothing stays stagnant) *read previous parenthesis with oozing sarcasm*

The new rule is: Harm to self/others or property must be shared.  Doing my job while I am present is not acceptable.  Stepping in to avoid harm to self/others/property when mom isn’t around is acceptable.

Honestly, new rules to not equal well behaved kids.  Rules have to settle in and sink in before behavior is modified.  They may have to copy it a few dozen times before that happens.  Sometimes we practice our penmanship with writing house rules.  I liken it to George Washington having to copy sections of his etiquette book in grammar school.  Some smart teachers back then 😉

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