Fact Sheets And Publications
Talking About Rules
- Parents sometimes are not clear about what they expect of their children.
- To help children learn about rules the following steps may be helpful:
- Identify what is expected.
- Tell the children what is expected as a rule.
- Say the rule in a positive way.
- Give the children examples of the rule.
- Help the children practice the behavior.
- Explain what will happen if the children follow the rule and what will happen if the children do not follow the rule.
- If children do not follow the rule, remind them of the rule and do what you told them you would.
- Have a few good rules.
Choose to have rules about those things that are most important to you. If you have lots of rules, children won’t be able to remember them. Choose a few good rules, and then enforce them.
Pat Tanner Nelson, Ed.D.
Extension Family & Human Development Specialist
ptnelson@udel.edu
Families Matter! is produced by Dr. Patricia Tanner Nelson, Extension Family and Human Development Spe-cialist, University of Delaware. This issue was adopted from materials prepared by Dr. Robert Hughes, Jr. for Cooperative Extension, University of Illinois.
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