My Mommy Mantras

Do you ever feel like you say the same things to you kids over...and over...and over? All the live-long day? After chanting, "Don't touch each other at the dinner table" 200 meals in a row, you'd think they'd learn a little self control, but alas, this is not the case. 

I was thinking about some of the other mommy mantras that keep me from slowly slipping into insanity; I thought I'd share to see if these might help you in your everyday life. We have our list of House Rules that are posted on our fridge and we still review occasionally (even though they haven't changed in 4 years) - if you don't have a set of House Rules, I'd start there. Having a quick, consistent phrase like, "Treat others how you want to be treated," instead of saying that same concept in a dozen different ways throughout the week, well, it just creates a more stable mantra that repeats in your child's head when you're not around.

"You get what you get and you don't throw a fit." Translation: life's not fair, get over it. This settles disputes from "He's sitting where I want to sit!" to "She got more than I did!!!" 

"Please do your chores." I love having a set list of expectations that my kids know about instead of asking them to separately pick up their toys, brush their teeth, unload the dishwasher, etc. It feels like I'm barking at them less and giving them more responsibility to check off their own to-do list without me micro-managing them.

"Make sure your chores are done/schoolwork is done before asking for free time." As soon as someone asks to play with a friend or go outside or watch a show, I ask if their chores are done. This is just a good overall principle in life, period. Work first, play later. Then you can relax more during your play without things nagging at you that need to be done. Okay, that isn't true for kids like it is for adults, but it's good to start early to avoid creating procrastinators. 

"Is it a safety issue?" Tattling drives me crazy, but if someone might get hurt, I definitely need to know. So my kids {theoretically} know that they can only "tell" if it's an issue of blood or safety.

"Who's in charge?" My overly responsible (read: bossy) older children have a tendency to, um, "help" each other and their baby brother a little too assertively sometimes. This is most unnecessary when I am literally sitting right. there. 

"Inside voices, please." My kids are loud. Very loud. All the time. I am confident that, even when our windows and doors are shut, our neighbors hear them speak to each other when they're inside the house. There's just no volume button on them!

"Use your words, not your hands." Most boys are naturally rough, mine are no exception. Jason has even taken to hitting people when he is happy and excited...I don't understand it. When he comes out of his room from a nap, I'll welcome him cheerfully and he'll give me a giant smile and proceed to body slam into me. (???) I feel like I'm constantly reminding both boys to be gentle with others and their belongings. Baby dolls were not meant to be rammed into the wall like a monster truck and not every hug needs to turn into WWF wrestling.

(on our way in the house from the van) "Please grab as much as you can carry from around your seat and bring it into the house." This keeps my van from looking like a pigsty and avoids, "I can't find my..." when they decide to bring schoolwork/a book/a toy on a car ride.

"Do the job right the first time or I'll double your workload." I'm trying to teach my kids to do things well and with pride, so if something is only half-done, not only do they need to finish the task, but I'll give them more work to do, too. It didn't take Ryan long to realize that his life would be easier if he spent an extra 2 minutes doing something properly the first time around.

I know I'm missing a few...what are some of your mommy mantras?