21 Rules of this House

[luvmy4sons]

I used to go over these rules with my sons every morning in devotions. We even found scriptures for each rule. We still manage by them and I use them as reminders when needed. It helped me be a better mother and them to obey! :)

The 21 Rules of This House

1. We obey our Lord Jesus Christ
2. We love, honor and pray for one another.
3. We tell the truth.
4. We consider one another's interests ahead of our own.
5. We speak quietly and respectfully with one another.
6. We do not hurt one another with unkind words or deeds.
7. When someone needs correction, we correct him in love.
8. When someone is sorry, we forgive him.
9. When somone is sad, we comfort him.
10. When somone is happy, we rejoice with him.
11. When we have something nice to share, we share it.
12. When we have work to do, we do it without complaining.
13. We do not create unnecessary work for others.
15. When we open something, we close it.
16. When we turn something on, we turn it off.
17. When we take something out, we put it away.
18. When we make a mess, we clean it up.
19. When we do not know what to do, we ask.
20 When we go out, we act just as if we were in this hourse.
21. When we disobey or forget any of the 21 Rules of this house, we accept the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

[LadyLavender]

Leslie, I think these are wonderful! :)

[luvmy4sons]

I should say that these come from a book titled" The 21 Rules of This House." I got mine from CBD ( Christian Book Distributors) They also put out" Uncommon Courtesy for Kids" and "Rules for Young Friends". They come with pull out charts and pictures to color etc....I meant to put that in the first post. I shouldn't take credit for these rules. But it really helped our family when we recited every one daily for years! My husband and me too!

[JoyLynn]

Those are great!! :D


Joy [welcomewave]

[KansasMom]

I love how they are all positive...instead of DON'T SHOUT it says We speak quietly and respectfully to one another!

My DH has been asking for a listing of rules...this well help tremendously!

Thanks for the post!

Melanie

[kassismom]

Those are really neat! I like your rules :D

[jamma]

I would love to see the scripture that goes with each one too, love them!

[luvmy4sons]

Well here are the ones that we used, but what was neat was the process of picking them out. We used a concordance and looked for words that were in the rules. I would read a few out loud and then they voted on which one they thought was best. After we picked them out we would say it like this in a form of recitation every morning during devotions:
" In this house we obey our Lord Jesus Christ because John 14:21 says, 'Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.'"

We would all start out reciting the rule and then stop at the scripture quote because each child had their scripture to memorize and say. So we would pause while that person filled in the scripture!
Here are our scriptures for the rest of the rules:
2. John 15:12
3. Leviticus 19:11
4.Phillipians 2:3b-4a
5.Eccles. 9:17
6.Ephesians 4:32
7.1 Peter 3:8
8.Matthew 6:14
9.2 Corinthians 1:4b
10. Phillipians 2:18
11.1 Timothy 6:18
12. Phillipians 2:14
13. 1 Timothy 6:2014. 2 Thessalonians 3:8b

And then we would say 15,16,17 and 18 and use one scripture to apply to all three as, " Because 1 Timothy 6:20 says to guard what has been entrusted to your care and 2 Thessalonians 3:8 says we worked night and day laboring and toiling so that we sould not be a burden to any of you."
19. James 1:5
20.Phillipians 3:16
21. Hebrews 12:11 ( My personal favorite!)

Those are ours, but have fun finding your own! God's Word is so amazing, is it not?

[love2mom]

How do you modify this for preschoolers? My boys are nearly 4 and 2 and don't yet have the staying juice to last through 21 rules.... or do you have ideas of how to help them pay attention? I am thinking of drawing page-size pictures to go with each rule and then flipping through them like a book to help explain each one... or posting them up on the wall?

[luvmy4sons]

How do you modify this for preschoolers? My boys are nearly 4 and 2 and don't yet have the staying juice to last through 21 rules.... or do you have ideas of how to help them pay attention? I am thinking of drawing page-size pictures to go with each rule and then flipping through them like a book to help explain each one... or posting them up on the wall?

If you buy the book it comes with pictures you can copy to let them color. When mine were littler we would cover one rule a day. And then we would try to recite the day before along with that day's. We would talk about how that rule would be applied in different siutations in our home and color the picture. For instance:

When we have something nice to share we share it. So that means Bobby..if you have a new toy then you will share it with Susie when she asks and you won't tell her she can't play with it just because it is new. Some people would make time exceptions on birthdays....like they get to play with the presents till bed time without having to share. Others don't go along with that idea. But see then you discuss how it will work in your home. Talk about certain situations and practice beforehand by role playing. You say let's practice...Let's pretend Bobby you have a toy and Susie comes up and wants to share ...what could you say if you aren't quite ready to share yet...or Susie how would you ask to share that toy. Then talk about the scripture and why it is good to share etc....little kids can get this. You just have to go with what they can grasp and time limits on their attention. It wasn't till we had done this for awhile that we began to recite all 21 each morning. But even little ones can try to memorize!

[love2mom]

thanks for the practical suggestions and good examples.... will bring this up with dh and see what he thinks!

[7thHeaven]

Sweeet! I love that!!

[minniejo]

I typed this up and posted it in our kitchen. I love the idea of saying one each day with our children. I think we will try that. Thanks for sharing this.

[baby_J]

I love that!! Thank you for sharing! I think I may have to borrow that for our house.

~Jill

[emilyrosejewel]

I will be borrowing this list also for Justice as he grows up. It is so important to instill these things in our children! Thank you so much!