Mi Casa es Su Casa—If this saves you some agony, my job here is done.

I don't usually give unsolicited parenting advice because I'm no mother of the year. But I do try. I've tried so hard but the older my kids grow, the meaner and snottier they've gotten. Sometimes I wonder if someone who has it out for me, hasn't made a deal with the devil and paid him to move into our house.

Two weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly to Utah for the annual LDStorymakers writer's conference. It was a good time and I went to some awesome classes, but the one major thing I took away from that trip had nothing to do with writing. I had the chance to visit with two of my favorite cousins. Separately. They are not related to each other and have not seen eachother for years.

Anywho.

I've been struggling, praying, tearing my hair out trying to figure out how to get my kids to be nice to each other and to have some respect for the people in our house. I asked each of these cousins, how they got their kids to get along because in the past I have witnessed some stellar behavior from their children.

And guess what?

They both told me the exact same thing.

'If our kids can't be nice to each other, then they have no business being around anyone else.'

Oh my word. This is brilliant. And so simple. Why did I not think of this years ago? And it's true. If they can't get along with their own family—the eternal unit to which they belong—then really I shouldn't let them be around other people.

So I came home and told my kids what was up.

-No name calling.
-No saying I hate you.
-No disrespect, sassing or bullying of any kind.
-No swearing (not that this was a problem. Yet.)

If ANY of these rules are broken, they are not allowed to visit anyone or have anyone visit them for 24 hours. Also, no electronics for 24 hours. Because if you ground them and then let them watch tv, movies or play video games, it's not much of a punishment.

It took them each a few fails to realize exactly how horrible this consequence is. It means they can't even go to Grandma's house. Which is torture since she lives right next to us. Oldest Son had a meltdown when he realized that.

My mom called me this morning slightly bewildered. 'O.S. and Y.S. got along when they spent the night up here last night. They were really nice to each other. Your Family Home Evenings must really be working.

I grinned and gave myself a pat on the back.

I won't lie, it was a rough at first. It meant I had to put up with them more than normal for a few days. But it was so worth it. Satan has officially moved out and peace has moved back in.

Go ahead, learn from my pain. Do not go through this. Just implement the 24 rule. It's magic. This morning O.S. and Y.S. were in their room together playing Legos. It wasn't sounding promising.I leaned my head in the door. "This conversation sounds like it's heading for 24 hours." O.S. said "Yeah. I'm leaving." And guys, he WALKED OUT OF THE ROOM. I've been telling him to walk away for years but the consequence has never been bad enough for him to sacrifice the last word.

Seriously. It's magic. Give it a shot and let me know how it goes.

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High School Reunion

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The Little Things