Dilogo en Ingls Family Rules

CATHY - Hi Nancy! Where are your kids?

NANCY - They're at home cleaning their rooms.
CATHY - Really? Wow. I wish my kids would clean their rooms.
NANCY - We made a new list of rules for the kids. If they obey all of the rules
they get a $5.00 allowance on Sunday.
CATHY - What are the rules?
NANCY - They have to clean their rooms once a week, do their homework every
day, and they have a different housecleaning job each week. One week they
clean the bathrooms, another week they vacuum the living room, each week
it's a different chore.
CATHY - That's great. I wish my kids would help me around the house.
NANCY - Oh, and they have to wash dishes once a week too.
CATHY - How's it working so far?
NANCY - So far it's working out pretty well. They complained a lot at first about
the work but they like the allowance. It really helps me a lot because I used to
do all of the housework myself.
CATHY - I think it's a great idea. I remember when I was little I had to help my
parents with housework.
NANCY - Me too. I had to do my homework right when I got home from school.
After that I had to help my mom get dinner ready.
CATHY - I grew up on a farm so we had to feed the chickens every morning
before school. We helped my parents a lot on the farm. When I was older I had
to help milk the cows too.
NANCY - I think it's important for kids to help around the house. It teaches them
responsibility.
CATHY - Yeah, and they learn how to do housework. When Bill and I got married
he didn't know how to do anything. He didn't have to help his mom with
housework when he was little so he never learned how to wash clothes or clean
the house. I had to teach him so that he could help me.

Repaso de Palabras Claves

chore - quehacer domstico
punish - castigar
reward - premio
punishment - castigo
misbehavior - mal comportamiento
gather - juntarse
involve - involucrar
benefit - beneficio
safety - seguridad
agreement - acuerdo
enforce - aplicar una ley
enforcement - aplicacin de la ley

Family Rules
Imagine if you had a boss who didn't specify what the rules were in your work place
but punished you if you broke these unknown rules. You would feel pretty frustrated,
wouldn't you? That's how children feel when they are punished for breaking rules that
have never been explained to them. Family rules are necessary to make clear what's
expected of children and to outline punishments for misbehavior and rewards for good
behavior.
When creating the rules remember to be specific both in what is expected and the
punishment or reward. Gather the family together when creating the family rule list.
Involve children in the creation of the rules and get their input as to appropriate
rewards or punishments. Explain to children why you'd like to include certain rules.
They will accept them more if they understand that they are for their own benefit and
safety.
You may want to create the list of rules in the form of a contract which all family
members sign. Before completing the contract make sure that all family members are
in agreement as to the wording of the rules and the punishments or rewards for each
rule.
Once the rules have been created, remember to be consistent with their enforcement.
The list of rules doesn't mean anything unless it is consistently enforced.

Preguntas
Selecciona la respuesta correcta.
1. Why do we need a list of family rules?

2. Which of the following was not a tip for creating family rules given in the article?

3. Why should we explain to children the reason behind the rules?

4. Who should sign the family rules contract?

5. What could happen if you don't consistently enforce the rules?