What are your house rules for your kids? (parents, snacks, son)

[lawl_rawr]

Kids are always coming and going in my house and I'm tired of repeating our house rules. My children will remind their friends if they catch them in the act but I thought it would just be easier to have a list on a wall somewhere.

I have "our" standard basics, but was curious what everyone else expects. My children are 11 and 12 by the way, and now is the time to not miss anything. lol

[jasper12]

I don't know what your "basic" rules are...but mine were pretty easy, no friends over if I was not home. That pretty much solved all the problems for me.

[Zimbochick]

I think it depends on what kind of rules you are talking about, and how well you know the children.

[DewDropInn]

First thing I thought of:

"You break it, you pay for it."

[passwithoutatrace]

My parents had these rules for myself and my sister:

-No shoes in the house
-No kids in the parent's bedroom
-No people over without the parents being home
-Wash hands before eating
-No food outside of the kitchen (occasionally they would make an exception for the adjoining room but definitely no food upstairs)

I wasn't allowed to be around my sister when she had friends over, but when I had friends over myself I wasn't allowed to exclude her so she always tagged along. Go figure.

[Mattie]

We don't have many rules here, except for clean up after yourself, rinse cans and bottles and put them in recycling.

With friends though, I made it clear everyone had to enter and exit through the kitchen door. Extra points for saying hello and goodbye. We have an entrance to our finished basement level, and I didn't want kids coming and going if I didn't know it.

[jasper12]

Originally Posted by DewDropInn

First thing I thought of:

"You break it, you pay for it."

Ha Ha...a house with three boys, one girl, two dogs, and three cats...I don't own anything breakable! Nope, nothing.

[bustaduke]

Originally Posted by lawl_rawr

Kids are always coming and going in my house and I'm tired of repeating our house rules. My children will remind their friends if they catch them in the act but I thought it would just be easier to have a list on a wall somewhere.

I have "our" standard basics, but was curious what everyone else expects. My children are 11 and 12 by the way, and now is the time to not miss anything. lol

Doesn't matter what rules you have. If you don't know how to enforce them, ( and I can tell by your post that you don't) the kids will never respect you or even care about your rules.

busta

[jkcoop]

I'm dieing to know what things your kids friends get caught "doing in the act" that is against your rules.....

My son is a bit of a home body and the few friends he has over are the most respectful, polite guys, so really, I guess I've never had to have any "rules" here.

Are your kids friends so rude that they continue to do things, even after you've asked them not to?

[addicted2helping]

Well I don't think we have many house rules. Food is allowed in rooms other than the kitchen, but NOT on beds. Kids have to ask permission for snacks, drinks, etc. I like to keep an eye on the amount of crap vs. Nutritious food that is eaten over the course of a day.

Shoes are generally not allowed on furniture. Kids are expected to clean up after themselves too.

That's about it. We don't have a lot of kids coming and going unless we have extended an invitation, and if a child comes over who has issues with respecting our belongings and our home, they aren't invited over again! Most of our guests are well mannered and respectful.