rules for the kids

For fun, I am creating a little contract for the kids to sign to remind them of some rules we have for them while on vacation. Well, for fun and I am a little bored at my last day of work before spring break begins.

My kids are actually pretty good (14 and 10), but I thought I might give them a few friendly reminders....

· --I will try at least one new food every day.

· --When in the hallways, I will walk and use my inside voice. No running.

· --I will use my very best manners and always use my please and thank you’s.

· -- I will be aware of my surrounding and respect the personal space of others around me.

· -- I will use my inside voice, even if I am outside.

· -- I will try my very best to get along with <<SIBLING>>.

· -- I will exercise self-control at all times.

· -- I will let Mommy and Daddy know where I will be at ALL times.

· -- I will keep track of time and show up exactly where I need to be, when I need to be there.

· --I will have a great time!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

I like this one, I like that it is positive! This is how we approach our students at the pre school where I work and it's how I like to approach my own children. There was another one I found here on CC that had great ideas, but I adapted it to be positive language. If you want it to be completely positvie, you could even say "use your walking feet" like we do to our 4 yo's ;)

I like the one about the siblings...I've been lucky my girls are good friends and they've traveled together for years, so they are very used to keeping eachother company, but when they snipe at eachother, usually fighting about getting out the door on the way to school in the morning, I break into a hymn from our church that goes like this:

"love one another, as I have loved you, care for eachother, as I have cared for you...bear eachothers burdens, bind eachothers wounds"

I don't know the rest of the words because they RUN out of the house before I can get to the next line!:p

Thanks! It was all negative when I started making the list, but it seemed so harsh so I decided to put the positive spin on it. The trying new foods is for my very picky eater son. He would eat plain pasta for 7 days straight. LOL.

I would like to get most of the ADULTS on board to sign the same contract!

For fun, I am creating a little contract for the kids to sign to remind them of some rules we have for them while on vacation. Well, for fun and I am a little bored at my last day of work before spring break begins.

 

My kids are actually pretty good (14 and 10), but I thought I might give them a few friendly reminders....

 

· --I will try at least one new food every day.

· --When in the hallways, I will walk and use my inside voice. No running.

· --I will use my very best manners and always use my please and thank you’s.

· -- I will be aware of my surrounding and respect the personal space of others around me.

· -- I will use my inside voice, even if I am outside.

· -- I will try my very best to get along with <<SIBLING>>.

· -- I will exercise self-control at all times.

 

· -- I will let Mommy and Daddy know where I will be at ALL times.

· -- I will keep track of time and show up exactly where I need to be, when I need to be there.

· --I will have a great time!!!! NO EXCEPTIONS!!!

I wish other parents of children would care about setting guidelines as you have. Some of them let their teenagers run around the ship like wild indians in packs terrorizing unsuspecting cruisers as they go! LOL

i would like to get most of the adults on board to sign the same contract!

agreed!

· -- I will let Mommy and Daddy know where I will be at ALL times.

And "on the ship" doesn't count.

You might want to add a rule about not going into anyone else's cabin and vice versa. Just a safety precaution.

I would like to get most of the ADULTS on board to sign the same contract!

There are a few other rules I think I could add for some adults.

You might want to add a rule about not going into anyone else's cabin and vice versa. Just a safety precaution.

That's a good one!

I would like to get most of the ADULTS on board to sign the same contract!

There are a few other rules I think I could add for some adults.

Actually it's a good suggestion for the OP. To keep it really fun for the kids, she might want to make up a family contract with suggestions from the kids.

Some suggestions:

-I will only force them into photos once a day

-I will allow the kids to have as many desserts as they want

-I will do my best not to embarass my kids in front of other kids (fully aware that I will do so just by existing;) )

Something to consider adding to the contract.

I will not play in the elevators or press all the elevator buttons.

if i made a contract with my boys the parental obligations section would contain only 1 line:

I will pay for the vacation.

Actually it's a good suggestion for the OP. To keep it really fun for the kids, she might want to make up a family contract with suggestions from the kids.

 

Some suggestions:

 

-I will only force them into photos once a day

-I will allow the kids to have as many desserts as they want

-I will do my best not to embarass my kids in front of other kids (fully aware that I will do so just by existing;) )

I think that's a terrific idea!:rolleyes:

You might want to add a rule about not going into anyone else's cabin and vice versa. Just a safety precaution.

I would add to this, a rule about walking down the cabin hallways alone. I always ensured the kids used a buddy system when walking to/from the cabin.

Actually it's a good suggestion for the OP. To keep it really fun for the kids, she might want to make up a family contract with suggestions from the kids.

 

Some suggestions:

 

-I will only force them into photos once a day

-I will allow the kids to have as many desserts as they want

-I will do my best not to embarass my kids in front of other kids (fully aware that I will do so just by existing;) )

That's a great idea. I would be very interested in hearing what they would come up with. (Although I can promise you they don't mind having their pictures taken!)

I love that it is positive and not a bunch of "rules" or "don't do this or that"! :)

That's a great idea. I would be very interested in hearing what they would come up with. (Although I can promise you they don't mind having their pictures taken!)

Every kid is different. At that age I would have loved to be in every picture while my brother would have spent the entire photo session glaring at the camera and trying to pretend like he didn't exist.:p

We have a couple more rules about safety and consideration for both family and other people:

- You are never to enter anyone's cabins except our own, and no one else is to enter our cabins.

- Do not accept a drink from anyone except an employee, and if your drink has been out of your sight for even a minute, get a new one.

- You are free to meet new friends for breakfast or lunch, but we will have dinner together as a family every evening. Leave a note to tell us where you are /if you're eating with someone else so we won't wait for you.

- Take what you want to eat, but do not be wasteful.

- After dark the younger girls are to be with us or in a supervised group activity.

- The older girls are allowed to be at the adult pool; however, keep in mind that people expect quiet in that location -- if you want to be loud with friends, go to the family pool.

- Show consideration for others just as you do at home: Open the door for elderly people and mothers with young children, thank all staff members for serving you, etc.

- On island stops, we will leave /return to the ship as a family.

- All the girls had a curfew that some people would consider too early. I don't care; these are my kids.

By spelling out our expectations in detail, we've not had a minute's trouble with our kids onboard.

We have a couple more rules about safety and consideration for both family and other people:

 

- You are never to enter anyone's cabins except our own, and no one else is to enter our cabins.

- Do not accept a drink from anyone except an employee, and if your drink has been out of your sight for even a minute, get a new one.

- You are free to meet new friends for breakfast or lunch, but we will have dinner together as a family every evening. Leave a note to tell us where you are /if you're eating with someone else so we won't wait for you.

- Take what you want to eat, but do not be wasteful.

- After dark the younger girls are to be with us or in a supervised group activity.

- The older girls are allowed to be at the adult pool; however, keep in mind that people expect quiet in that location -- if you want to be loud with friends, go to the family pool.

- Show consideration for others just as you do at home: Open the door for elderly people and mothers with young children, thank all staff members for serving you, etc.

- On island stops, we will leave /return to the ship as a family.

- All the girls had a curfew that some people would consider too early. I don't care; these are my kids.

 

By spelling out our expectations in detail, we've not had a minute's trouble with our kids onboard.

All wonderful suggestions, thank you MrsPete!

Agree with the others here, great to turn "rules" into the positive aspects. Although these are not quite that way, and I think most have been hit, here are our "rules" -

• You are not to enter any cabins other than ours. It does not matter if it is the cabin of a new friend or someone we know (unless one of us expressly approves this).

• No one else is to enter our cabins.

• If you are in your cabin alone – hang the do not disturb sign on the door. This should prevent any RCCL employee from entering. Please ensure you remove it when you leave the room.

• You are not to drink any beverage unless it is handed to you by a family member or an RCCL staff member. You are not to drink from anything you have let out of your sight. Some people have been known to slip drugs into other people’s drinks. This is a lifelong rule that should be followed in any social situation.

• We expect to know where you are on the ship. We will use notes in our cabin to let each other know where we can be found.

• You are not to loiter or play in the stairwells, hallways, or elevators. Activities such as “knock and run” or calling other cabins to hang up will not be tolerated.

• We will decide on a curfew each night. The ship’s curfew is 1 AM since you are under 18. We have the right to require you to be in the cabin earlier if we feel the need.

• Your Sea Pass is tied to my credit card. It is to be used only by you. You may not buy other people drinks, snacks, arcade games, or souvenirs. You have a budget of $xx. If you exceed this budget without our approval, you will need to reimburse us.

• If you loose your Seapass you are to immediately notify one of us.

• We expect to eat dinner together most nights. There is flexibility if there is an alternate activity you would prefer to attend as long as we have discussed it in advance (at least that morning).

• If there are kids you would prefer to hang out with instead of the teen club, I need to meet them.

• If you order room service, you must tip the delivery person. We will provide a small amount of money for this.

• If we arrange a check-in time and you miss it then you are “grounded” for the next 24 hours. This means that you must stay with us or in your cabin.

• No visits to the outside areas of the upper deck at night alone.

• Put anything of value into the cabin safe. Cell phones are only to be taken out of the safe when we ask you to. Texts and calls are expensive and not in your budget.

• Do not leave the ship without one of us.

My kids are older now so outgrown some of these, but I still remind them before every cruise, along with consequences if a rule is broken. Better to set the stage before the cruise.

I would like to get most of the ADULTS on board to sign the same contract!

I definitely agree that a list of positive rules for adults would be great, like

You are on vacation, so relax and enjoy, and be patient with others.

Be courteous to the staff. They are working hard to serve you.

Realize that everything won't be perfect, but make every effort to have a positive perspective.

etc.

Plus I'm sure some of the rules for the under 18 crowd could apply to adults, too. (I'll have to remember to not run in the halls.;))

Just printed these out. This is such a great idea! Thanks!

I would like to get most of the ADULTS on board to sign the same contract!

ditto. :D

Lydia

The 10 year old ...you will have to decide if they can sign in & out of AO by themselves or if you will be taking them and picking them up...didn't know if you knew about this. But talk with them about how many times they sign in and out in a day (or even in an evening). Have traveled with a friend whose child was signing in/out so many times the staff sent a note to the cabin!