Enforcing Rules at Home
We all want a peaceful household, but conflict will probably arise when your teen does not follow the rules.
A question you might ask is: What is the consequence for breaking the rules? Dr. Ramirez has a few suggestions.
The important point here is to not overreact; however, you should set a punishment that has some impact. Remember,
you’re the parent and you set the rules and consequences, which are not negotiable.
Here are some suggestions for reasonable punishments. Keep in mind that the punishment should not be much longer
than three weeks. If it’s too long, your child will forget why he’s being punished.
- Restrict television or Internet use.
- Have your teen read and discuss information about the harmful effects of drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
- Suspend outside activities such as going to the mall or movies.
- Temporarily restrict friends from coming over to the house and don’t allow visits to friends’ homes.
- Have your teen perform a community service to encourage positive usage of time.
- Disallow telephone calls.
Here are suggestions for how you might deliver the punishment when they break the rules:
"Because you stayed at a party where there was no adult supervision and where people were using
drugs, you’re not going anywhere — no mall, no movies, nowhere — for one week (up to three depending on whether the
child lied and on how severe the act was)."
"You broke the most important rule — no drugs. We’ve talked about how I feel about that; here are the consequences of
your behavior. You get no phone or television privileges for one week (up to three depending on whether the child lied
and on how severe the act was). You do get Internet privileges, so that during that time, you can read a paper on the
effects of drugs."
Next: Limit Media Access
