Monday, November 17, 2014

Say NO To The Rules

Say NO To The Rules
Say NO To The Rules!
 
I don' remember that much about being a kid.  I have the memory of a 97 year old woman. I had your average childhood but I just don't really remember specifics.  I don't remember opening Christmas presents or having birthday parties.  I have photographic evidence of those events so I'm fairly certain that they happened.  I don't remember having rules.  That doesn't necessarily mean that I didn't though.  I was a good kid, basically an angel sent from Heaven to grace the Earth with my presence and  bring joy to the hearts of all that were blessed with opportunity to meet me.  My kids didn't take after me.  They are completely like their father.  They can be hard headed, loud and they have the biggest tempers you can imagine..nothing like their mother. They are little angels 6% of the time..and that's when they want something from me.   My children have rules! 

My kids have chores and rules and they even have to study on days that they don't have any homework.  I know, I am a horrible horrible evil mother.  Including the 15 minutes spent crawling across the living room floor because he has been infected with Ebola and is too ill to do his chores (yes, the 6 year old tried that..considering not letting him watch the news anymore) their chores take about 20 minutes. Studying is 30-45 minutes, less if they show me that they already know everything on their study guides.  I'm not strict, I think kids should have some responsibility but I think that they should also have time to just be kids.

We also have those rules I mentioned.  Things like don't beat your sister with your ninja sword, don't throw a bowling pin at your brother, don't dive from the back of the couch.  All of those things have happened.  But, we don't have all of those usual rules.  No jumping on the bed, no running in the house, no bouncing/throwing the ball in the house, no playing in the rain, no bouncing in the mud puddles.  Why don't we have those rules?  Well, that's simple.  What's it hurt? I don't see a 5 year old breaking a metal bed frame by bouncing on it a couple of times and to be perfectly honest since there is no rule against doing it, they really don't have any interest in doing it.  Little rebels.  Running in the house isn't going to kill anyone.  Yes, if they get too loud and wild I tell them to chill out but hide and go seek and chase are games that they play very often inside the house.  We have a basketball goal in the boy's room..that would just be cruel if we told him he couldn't bounce or throw a ball inside.  They know to avoid televisions and windows when throwing it.  To the people that have a rule against playing in the rain and mud puddles: Seriously, it's really fun!  Get out there, grab a hand full of mud and nail someone in the head.  Trust me, you will enjoy it!

As parents we make all of these rules without thinking about why we are making them.  Sometimes we make rules and when we think about it, there isn't really a reason at all.  Yes, they could fall off the bed and break their neck from jumping on it but the odds are higher that they will break their neck on the football field than the bed.  It's ok to let kids be kids.  Let them be carefree and break the rules. Let them get dirty.  They grow up way too fast.  Let them have fun while they can.  Say NO to the rules and bring on the fun!

What is your favorite rule to break?  I would love to hear you favorite story of being a rebel.

8 comments:

  1. haha dont beet your sister with the ninja sword. I have said this many time but it is usually dont beet mama with the ninja sword. Love this

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    1. I know, right?! They always want to attack the one that feeds them ha ha.

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  2. Will you be my mommy? When Brad was small, him and cousin Chas used to fly off of our porch which landed them in the ER. I had to take away their bionic He Man and Superman powers unless they were on the bed. Thanks for sharing your rules. I'm going to pass them on. No to rules. Here here!

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    1. Oh my, thankfully our lack of rules hasn't resulted in any trips to the ER yet. It seems like the more that I tell them they CAN do something the less interest they have in doing it. I wonder if it will stay that way through the teenage years? I can make this work to my advantage lol.

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  3. Mine was "don't stick those peas up your nose" LOL. My kids were bad when they were little too. My two boys once camped out in an air conditioning vent...toys, snacks, pillows and blankets! I wonder who they took after :).

    Love this post! And I agree, kids need time to be kids.

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    1. There have been several nights that I was chasing someone with tweezers and a bottle of Afrin trying to get craft beads out of their nose. After a couple of times we didn't even need a "no beads in your nose rule" lol. Camping in the a/c vent is a first lol..you will have to share that story some time. It sounds very interesting! Thank you for dropping by our blog :)

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  4. I remember doing so many dangerous things as a kid, so I stay on my daughter about not doing certain things. The hubby's sense of danger is zero and he lets her do things that would stop my heartbeat in a minute! I need to learn to loosen up!

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  5. Ah heck I have the "don't jump on your bed" rule but that's because they have indeed broke their metal frame!!! Most of my rules consist of don't hit your brothers/sisters with damaging objects lol! Oh, and don't climb trees if you can't get yourself out of it!

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