Life balance:

How to set rules for a happy home

During lockdown, in order to maintain household harmony, it made sense to pick your battles. But if things have become too lax, now is the time to regain some normality. Rules affect everyone, so agree them together. This way, your kids will feel like they’re part of a team and not being dictated to. If they have enjoyed a more relaxed system, they may understandably feel reluctant to change, so explain that rules ensure the health and happiness of everyone. Ten rules is the maximum any household should create, including bedtimes and personal hygiene expectations. Be clear about what is unacceptable. Rules like “no shouting” are easy to understand and you can draw your kids’ attention to them when they get into a spat. Draw boundaries around screen time and your kids will become accustomed to when they can and cannot watch TV or play online. If they are old enough to surf the internet, they are old enough to help with chores, so agree that they will keep their room tidy and give a hand when asked. Write out and pin up your rules and create a reward chart. At the end of each day, stick a star on the chart if everyone stuck to the rules. Once they get to ten, they get a treat that you agree on. This makes pulling together feel worth it. When things go wrong and you have a bad day, recognise you’re all human and this is a bump in the road, not a full-scale crash. Gather together, explore what went wrong and agree to get back on track.