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