Rules of Parenting, The: A Personal Code for Bringing Up Happy, Confident Children

<div> Rules for staying sane&nbsp; </div> <div> 1 Relax&nbsp; </div> <div> 2 No one is perfect&nbsp; </div> <div> 3 Be content&nbsp; </div> <div> 4 Know what you're good at&nbsp; </div> <div> 5 Almost any rule can be broken occasionally&nbsp; </div> <div> 6 Don't try to do everything&nbsp; </div> <div> 7 You don't have to follow every piece of advice you get (including this one)&nbsp; </div> <div> 8 It's normal to want to escape&nbsp; </div> <div> 9 You're allowed to hide from your kids&nbsp; </div> <div> 10 Parents are people too&nbsp; </div> <div> 11 Don't ignore your relationship with your partner&nbsp; </div> <div> &nbsp; </div> <div> Attitude Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 12 Love is not enough&nbsp; </div> <div> 13 Every recipe needs different ingredients&nbsp; </div> <div> 14 Anything extreme is almost certainly wrong&nbsp; </div> <div> 15 Look pleased to see them&nbsp; </div> <div> 16 Treat your child with respect&nbsp; </div> <div> 17 Enjoy their company&nbsp; </div> <div> 18 It's not about you – it's about them&nbsp; </div> <div> 19 Being tidy isn't as important as you think&nbsp; </div> <div> 20 Good parenting is calculated risk taking&nbsp; </div> <div> 21 Keep your worries to yourself&nbsp; </div> <div> 22 See things from their point of view&nbsp; </div> <div> 23 Parenting is not a competitive sport&nbsp; </div> <div> 24 Never emotionally blackmail them&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Everyday Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 25 Let them get on with it&nbsp; </div> <div> 26 Let them go (wild)&nbsp; </div> <div> 27 Teach them to think for themselves&nbsp; </div> <div> 28 Use praise wisely&nbsp; </div> <div> 29 Make sure they know what's important&nbsp; </div> <div> 30 Show them how to lose&nbsp; </div> <div> 31 Know the value of boundaries&nbsp; </div> <div> 32 Bribery doesn't have to be bad&nbsp; </div> <div> 33 Moods are catching&nbsp; </div> <div> 34 You're setting their eating patterns for life&nbsp; </div> <div> 35 Communicate&nbsp; </div> <div> 36 Set clear targets&nbsp; </div> <div> 37 Don't be a nag&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Discipline Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 38 Present a united front&nbsp; </div> <div> 39 Carrots beat sticks&nbsp; </div> <div> 40 Be consistent&nbsp; </div> <div> 41 Lighten up&nbsp; </div> <div> 42 Focus on the problem, not the person&nbsp; </div> <div> 43 Don't paint yourself into a corner&nbsp; </div> <div> 44 If you lose your temper, you're the loser&nbsp; </div> <div> 45 Apologise if you get it wrong&nbsp; </div> <div> 46 Let them back in&nbsp; </div> <div> 47 The right of expression&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Personality Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 48 Find what incentives work for your child&nbsp; </div> <div> 49 Every child should have something they know they're good at&nbsp; </div> <div> 50 Learn to appreciate the qualities that remind you of someone else&nbsp; </div> <div> 51 Look for the similarities between you&nbsp; </div> <div> 52 Find qualities to admire in them&nbsp; </div> <div> 53 Let them be better than you&nbsp; </div> <div> 54 Their attitude is as important as their achievements&nbsp; </div> <div> 55 Keep your fears and insecurities to yourself&nbsp; </div> <div> 56 Mind your programming&nbsp; </div> <div> 57 Don't try to have a perfect child&nbsp; </div> <div> &nbsp; </div> <div> Sibling Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 58 Give them each other&nbsp; </div> <div> 59 Recognize that squabbling is healthy (within reason)&nbsp; </div> <div> 60 Teach them to sort out their own arguments&nbsp; </div> <div> 61 Work as a team&nbsp; </div> <div> 62 Let them entertain each other&nbsp; </div> <div> 63 Never compare children with each other&nbsp; </div> <div> 64 Different children need different rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 65 Don't have a favourite&nbsp; </div> <div> 66 Mix and match&nbsp; </div> <div> 67 Find each child's strengths&nbsp; </div> <div> &nbsp; </div> <div> School Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 68 Schooling isn't the same as education&nbsp; </div> <div> 69 School comes as a package&nbsp; </div> <div> 70 Fight your child's corner&nbsp; </div> <div> 71 Bullying is always serious&nbsp; </div> <div> 72 Teach them to stand up for themselves&nbsp; </div> <div> 73 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Put up with friends of theirs you don't like&nbsp; </div> <div> 74 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Remember you're their parent, not their teacher&nbsp; </div> <div> 75 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't mollycoddle them&nbsp; </div> <div> 76 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let up the pressure&nbsp; </div> <div> 77 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They have to live with their choices (and it's OK)&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Teenage Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 78 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't panic&nbsp; </div> <div> 79 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Remember Newton's Third Law&nbsp; </div> <div> 80 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Give them a voice&nbsp; </div> <div> 81 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't look under the mattress&nbsp; </div> <div> 82 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Running round after them doesn't help anybody&nbsp; </div> <div> 83 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't stand in front of a speeding train&nbsp; </div> <div> 84 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Yelling isn't the answer&nbsp; </div> <div> 85 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let them have the last word&nbsp; </div> <div> 86 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Everything comes with strings&nbsp; </div> <div> 87 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Show some respect for the things they care about&nbsp; </div> <div> 88 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Adopt a healthy attitude to sex&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Crisis Rules&nbsp; </div> <div> 89 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't use your kids as ammunition&nbsp; </div> <div> 90 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let them cope in their own way&nbsp; </div> <div> 91 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Being younger doesn't necessarily speed everything up&nbsp; </div> <div> 92 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>The aftershock can last forever&nbsp; </div> <div> 93 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Tell them what's going on&nbsp; </div> <div> 94 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Teach them to fail successfully&nbsp; </div> <div> 95 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's better to agree than to be right&nbsp; </div> <div> 96 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>All of your actions speak louder than any of your words&nbsp; </div> <div> 97 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Make sure they know they're priority no. 1&nbsp; </div> <div> 98 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can't fix everything&nbsp; </div> <div> &nbsp; </div> <div> Grown-up Rules&nbsp; &nbsp; </div> <div> 99 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Back off&nbsp; </div> <div> 100 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Wait until they ask for advice&nbsp; </div> <div> 101 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Treat them as adults&nbsp; </div> <div> 102 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't try to be their best friend&nbsp; </div> <div> 103 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Encourage them regardless&nbsp; </div> <div> 104 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>You can't choose who your children love&nbsp; </div> <div> 105 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Leave the strings off&nbsp; </div> <div> 106 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't guilt-trip them&nbsp; </div> <div> 107 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Remember they still need you&nbsp; </div> <div> 108 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>It's not your fault&nbsp; </div> <div> 109 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Once a parent, always a parent&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> Rules about your parents&nbsp; </div> <div> 1 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't put them on a pedestal&nbsp; </div> <div> 2 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Let them be grandparents&nbsp; </div> <div> 3 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't ask too much of them&nbsp; </div> <div> 4 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't guilt-trip them – even by mistake&nbsp; </div> <div> 5 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Learn to share&nbsp; </div> <div> 6 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They're new to this too&nbsp; </div> <div> 7 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Understand that they don't come from the same place as you&nbsp; </div> <div> 8 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Any grandparent is better than no grandparent&nbsp; </div> <div> 9 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>Don't bad-mouth them in front of the kids&nbsp; </div> <div> 10 <span style="white-space: pre;"> </span>They love you just like you love your kids&nbsp; </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div>