Understanding the Reasons for the Rules

With the help of your children, develop a consequence card.  This card should list at least 3 consequences each child would be willing to do if they failed to follow one of the family rules.  Select the rule you decide is the most important for everyone to follow.  A typical card might look like this:

            My Consequence Card:____________________________

            When I break or forget to keep the rule:_______________
             _______________________________________________
             I will:    1.  Do something for the person I offended.

                         2.  Take someone else’s job to show I am sorry.

                         3.  Give up my allowance for one week.

                         4.  Give up __TV shows.

Each time the family rule is broken, the person must complete one of the consequences.  If the rule is broken twice in one day, all consequences must be completed.  Each day you start over.  Courageous parents offer to carry a consequence card to demonstrate that the rules are there for everyone to follow.

Discipline With Purpose, Inc., 1997