“Adjust your attitude, before I adjust it for you!”
After you’ve started a scolding; finish with praise.
“All we ask is that you try your best.”
Always have the children walk in front of you so you can keep your eyes on them.
Answer their questions but set the expectation of how they should behave now they have the answers.
Be firm but fair.
Be their best friend, until they cross the line – then they need the discipline to know where the limits are.
Being cheeky is good, being too cheeky isn’t.
“Boys will be Boys!” and “Girls will be Girls!”
“But when do I grow up?” – “On the day when you start your first full time job. Why? Because you have to.”
“Cheats never prosper.”
Children are people too who simply haven’t lived as long as we have …
Children have their own personalities but lots of things influence their upbringing; two important ones are to simply love them and to listen them.
Constant Praise!
Day Off? Game On! – Play a game with them on your day off.
Don’t get too angry with them, they’re only kids.
Don’t let them get away with it, I was never allowed to, so that’s why we need to be just as strict.
Don’t let an only child get lonely.
Don’t plan for a perfect house while the kids are young/there.
Encourage them to own up – “I’m not angry because you told the truth.”
Get ‘em fed then get ‘em to bed.
Going head to head? This is the raging storm of the Clash of the Titans.
“Good Cop; Bad Cop”; “Don’t ‘Give in to them’; Don’t be spiteful” – Just Be Reasonable – A University of Illinois study in the Sep/Oct 2007 issue of Child Development found that when one parent provided little support in response to a child’s feelings of anger or anxiety and the other parent provided a lot of support, the child had less conflict with friends and a better understanding of emotions.
Even lions play “Rough and Tumble” to learn to fight to survive.
Have a well stocked Tuck Box.
I’ll give them a little tap if they’re about to kill themselves otherwise I’ll ask them what they think their punishment should be.
“I’ll meet you half-way.”
I’m happy if we can find what we need in your room without having to turn it upside down each time.
“Is there a side order of manners with that?”
It’s all a blur until they start school full time.
It’s good to have both order and chaos in your life.
“I believe in you.”
“I don’t like bickering.”
“I hate you” and “I didn’t ask to be born” are Statements of Independence.
If kids are in full time higher education after 18 then I don’t believe they should pay rent if they are living at home otherwise they have to learn to contribute into the pot.
If they don’t say please then you can ignore them.
If they’re well enough to complain then they’re well enough for school. It’s when they go quiet that you have to worry.
If you can’t distract them, ignore the strops otherwise it only fuels the fire.
If you promise to listen to me then I’ll promise to listen to you.
It takes tough love to keep kids on the straight and narrow.
If you say “No” to something, then do you want to say “Yes” to something else?
Keep the kids busy – The Devil makes work for idle hands – “Nothing is as certain as that the vices of leisure are gotten rid of by being busy.” – Seneca (5 BC – 65 AD)
Keep their party invitations. They always come in handy.
Kids do need to understand boredom though so they can appreciate it when they are not.
Kids give us ‘Maximum Pain!’
Kids need love and stability.
Kids need their parents to be there as they go through their childhood. Parents need their kids to be there so they can enjoy their own childhood again through their own kid’s eyes.
Kids – remember your home phone number and post code and learn to shout ‘Fire!’ If you need help – people always take notice of “Fire”, in case they believe they’re going to be caught up in it. (It’s called Diffusion of Responsibility)
Kids should start looking for a part time job when they are 16. They need to learn how to earn money and balance their studies. Then they’re Off …
Kids will be what you tell them they are. If you say they’re horrible then that’s what they’ll be.
Learn to let them discover who they are.
Let’s be clear – Kids can’t see anything beyond their nose and never listen to a word you say – “As Blind as a Bat and In One Ear and Out the Other” – “I may as well talk to the wall.”
Liars need good memories and anyway I can always tell when you are lying.
Make it fun at home!
“Make sure your kids have read, listened to, watched and experienced ‘Your’ Classics.” *
Make sure they have fond memories of growing up.
My Children are my Garden – They need both Sun and Rain to grow strong.
“My house, my rules.”
“And one of my rules is to listen to you.”
Once they start Big School then they’re not your babies anymore.
“One in trouble; All in trouble.”
“Our door is always open.”
Outside games when it’s sunny; indoor games when it’s not.
People grow at different rates.
“Play Fair and Remember to Share.”
Plenty of Fruit and Veg and give ‘em plenty of what they like but make sure they try something new when the opportunity’s there.
“Please excuse the mess, we have children!”
“Punish the Bad; Praise the Good.”
Remember the “Pecking Order”; the eldest gets the best seat.
Shout if you’re not heard or ignored.
Spend time with your kids and they might want to spend time with you.
Talk First; Shout Last.
That Children are our investment in the future.
That Children require infinite patience.
That Children should be taken to bed while they still want you to for some guaranteed Golden time and, if you can, tell them what special thing you remembered about them today – Kids like it if they feel you’ve taken notice.
“That my children are my ambition.”
“That’s That! And no mistake.”
There’s always going to be sibling rivalry.
“They won’t appreciate it until they’re older.”
They’re a worry from the moment of conception.
Tough Love – “Keep your nose clean, otherwise I’ll be mean.”
The kid’s watershed is 9pm or when they start Secondary School.
Their hormones often result with the reaction of an explosion of emotion – “Chill Out!”
Tell them that good behaviour will be rewarded and do it – this makes the opposite true too.
Tell them where the line is – when they are near it, on it and then when they’ve crossed it and why.
The kids always ask you questions, so always ask them questions.
“They’ll have to learn at some point.”
Torture your kids as they will torture you.
Toughen them up to make them last longer.
Up to 16 kids are told, then we interfere until 18 then we advise until 21 and after that they’re on their own unless they want to come to us.
“We have to push through the pain and move it all along.”
“We must show a united front”.
“We try not to do same day or next day assignments!” – ie. Give us notice.
“What we do for one; we do for the other(s) too”.
“Whatever happens, we will always love and standby you.”
“Whatever they do, I’ll be happy, if they’re happy.”
“When it’s time to go; Go! Everybody Out! Last one out gets a poke in the ribs.”
“Who Starts? – Youngest First” – They have to learn to jump in at the deep end.
“Yes, No, We’ll see” – mean what you say.
You are the Boss, don’t let them dictate to you nor try to pull the wool over your eyes, but do listen to what they’re saying.
You can tell them you’re blue in the face but it’s their lives that they have to lead.
You can’t blame just the parents – Kids can make a choice too.
“You can’t have what we ain’t got”.
You need the patience of a saint.
“Your Mother’s always right!”
50p pocket money once they are in Junior School then a pound when they are in High School. In other words, the less you give the better for them to appreciate money.
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