Index: Rule of Three (ages 6-8+)

When andhow do yougiveconsequences? For example,if youinstruct yourson to go clean his room (assuming you’ve prepped him for accepting a consequence) and he whines and says, “I don’t want to do it right now.” What do you say?… Read more »

I recently asked a group of 10-year-old children what kinds of negative consequences their families have. “At our house, we sweep the floor and clean,” said one boy. “Mom gets mad and goes into a bad mood,” said another boy. “Mom used to send us to time out, but we don’t do that anymore,” said a thoughtful girl. I asked… Read more »

“Another question I had was, does the rule of 3 start over for each incident? Are the 3 consequences for staying out of instructional control as relating to the first incident? I just want to make sure I understand correctly. So if a child hits his brother, and gets out of instructional control and has the consequences for that earlier… Read more »

How does 24 hours loss of privilegeswork in your house? Let’s say a13 year old boydoesn’t want to get on board. Buthe shouldn’t be allowed to just hole up in his room away from the rest of the family!However, I have foundthat sending him to sit on his bed is the most effective thingthat can be done. Consequences are so… Read more »

Family travel looks different these days than it used to. Today’s parents were raised in a slower time. Most families planned one or two trips a year, which were usually taken during school holidays, and in our case, in the family travel trailer. While there are still families that really don’t like to leave home for even one night (even… Read more »

“My 2yo has started crying a LOT the past few days. Over every little thing. Nothing is different physically or environmentally that I can tell. He already has his 2yo molars, too.. He’s just been crying about everything that he doesn’t like, with some pretty good tantrums thrown in the mix of the average crying. I tried holding him in… Read more »

When the famed prime minister of England, William Pitt, was asked what made him a great prime minister, he didn’t say his hard work ethic, late night hours, or perseverance. He said, “Patience.” There are many attributes that are useful to parents as they’re raising their children during this often busy world full of attitude problems, disconnection, and every day… Read more »

Training a horse is much like training a child. Treat a horse as if it were your friend, they become overly confident and take control, leaving you at your wit’s end as you try to regain control of them. It is the same with children. If the parental authority in the home is not respected or observed, children become bold,… Read more »

In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss just how easy it is to teach young children the principles and skills of Self-Government. Do you feel like you’re constantly reminding your little children of the skills you’ve taught them? Does it seem overly repetitive to have to keep teaching the same things over and over? Listen in on how you can… Read more »

In this podcast, Nicholeen and Paije discuss the nuts and bolts of Teaching Self-Government. Need a refresher? Wondering if you’re missing out on a few things that could be helpful for you and your family? Listen in for a crash course in the things we teach and share! https://tsg-podcasts.s3.amazonaws.com/2022/03+March/TSGPodcast101-TSG101-March7-2022.mp3… Read more »

Is your home in crisis? Do your children never do what they are told? Do you find yourself completely overwhelmed and hating to interact with your children? Do your children treat you with disrespect and cause contention at home? Are you out of control of your emotions as a parent too? If any of these descriptions sound like your house,... Read more »

“Mom, I’m going to go to Zack’s to play basketball. Is that okay?” Quinton, age fifteen, announced this morning. I replied, “Quin, you have things to do here at home today, so I don’t think we will have time for friends until another day.” Quin really wanted to go shoot hoops with his friend. What fifteen year old boy doesn’t?… Read more »