“Can I really only have one cookie?” “Do I have to go to bed now?” “But I don’t want to do that now!” Did any of those sound familiar? It’s part of human nature to push against the rules placed on us. But healthy, God-honoring rules actually keep peace and promote happiness. Rules set firm guidelines for behavior and expectations—this might be within a family, friendship, or classroom. When we teach kids about rules, we’re helping them learn about God. I have three ideas for you today to help us teach kids about rules. 

My first idea is super simple but essential. Talk with kids about how God gives us rules for our good. The 10 Commandments are a good example. When one of them is broken, it causes chaos and havoc. Explain that because we aren’t perfect like God, we have rules and boundaries for all the different places we are each day--home, school, daycare, and other activates. It’s good to make sure rules in our homes and classrooms are clearly defined and that any consequences for breaking them are known beforehand. When appropriate, share the reason for the rules. For example, when explaining a rule about taking not taking treats or other snacks whenever they want, I might say something like this; “you’re not allowed to take snacks without permission. I work hard to make your meals each day, and if you’re always having snacks you won’t get the nutrients you need from dinner.” Try to show how your rules are meant to help honor God and reflect His character. Just one word of warning: as we start pointing to the reasons we have for our rules, we might find some of our reasons aren’t very well thought through and need some adjustment. Rules should promote peace and build trust instead of existing for the sake of showcasing authority. 

Speaking of authority, the second idea is to help kids learn to respect authority. Whenever I run into issues with kids refusing to follow rules, I find one of the causes is because they don’t respect those in authority over them. They reason that if they don’t like whoever is in charge, they shouldn’t have to listen to them. Have you ever felt that way about a boss or other authority figure? Even if we don’t get along with the people in charge, God still wants us to respect them. Tell your kids it’s important to listen to people who are in authority, like teachers, babysitters, police officers, and others. One note about this: even though we all have to deal with people we don’t always like or get along with, we should never have to put up with abuse, and kids shouldn’t either. If someone is abusing their authority, it’s a serious problem that needs to be addressed right away. If you have reason to believe someone is abusing their authority over a child in a way that is causing emotional or physical harm, speak up. When a child is in an abusive situation, they don’t have the power to set boundaries to keep themselves safe.  

A third idea for helping kids learn about rules is to let your own life be on display and accountable. Do you ever speed? C’mon, be honest. You can say this to your kids, “I know we’re running late, and I’m very tempted to speed, but I know if I get pulled over by a police officer, we’ll be even more late. Also, the cost of a ticket is really expensive, and I don’t want to pay that. And worst of all, speeding could cause a bad accident and someone could get hurt. If you ever see me speeding, please remind me that it’s NOT worth it.” Understanding the cost of stepping outside of limits helps kids learn to value rules. It also points to the loving care we can see in the rules God places on His children. His rules and boundaries for how to live are for our good and when we cross those lines, there are consequences. Those consequences may not happen right away, so maybe we feel like we got away with it. But making a habit of breaking rules can make the inevitable consequence even worse. You can also talk to kids about ways to get rid of temptation to break rules. For example, you can tell them something like, “let’s be sure to leave on time so I’m not tempted to speed.” 


To review these tips on rules, go to the article about rules on cefonline.com.  
One Minute Scripts:

Rules 1
“Can I really only have one cookie?” “Do I have to go to bed now?” “Just five more minutes!” Did any of those sound familiar. It’s part of human nature to push against the rules placed on us. But healthy, God-honoring boundaries help keep peace and promote happiness. When we teach kids about rules, we are helping them learn a bit about God. God gives us good and loving rules for our lives. Rules also help us point kids to the Gospel and to God’s amazing grace. Let’s remember to teach important topics like this to the kids in our lives. For more ideas on teaching different Biblical principles to kids, visit our blog at cefonline.com. 

Rules 2
Transparency. That’s a bit of a buzz word these days. It’s also a great concept to keep in mind when teaching your kids about rules. We need to make sure kids know rules are for a reason. Whenever appropriate, we should be transparent about the reasons we set the rules we do. For example, when explaining a rule about taking not taking treats or other snacks whenever they want, I might say something like this; “you’re not allowed to take snacks without permission. I work hard to make your meals each day, and if you’re always having snacks you won’t get the nutrients you need from dinner.” Remember to try to point to how the rule is meant to help us honor God. For more ideas on teaching biblical principles to kids, visit our blog at cefonline.com. 

Rules 3
No limits. Have you heard that before? Our culture teachings that limits are a bad thing but God gives us limits and rules for our good. And, while we aren’t perfect like God, the rules we set for kids should be for their good as much as we are able. We need to take time to think about the reasons for the limits and rules we set for kids. Ask questions like “Does this help them see the good in God’s rules?” and “Do I have this limit so I look good to others?”  Depending on your answers, it might be time to adjust a few of our rules. For more ideas on building healthy limits and other helps for teaching the kids in your life, visit our blog at cefonline.com 

Rules 4
It’s important for kids to know the cost of stepping outside of good rules. This will help them learn to value them. It also points to the loving care we can see in the limits and rules God places on His children. His rules and boundaries for how to live are for our good and when we cross those lines, there are always consequences. Do you have any stories of good boundaries you have crossed and the consequences that came because of it? It might be helpful to be open with your kids and share some of these stories. For more tips and tricks for teaching kids biblical principles, visit our blog at cefonline.com. 

Rules 5
Have you ever had a boss or other authority figure you couldn’t stand? Kids also can feel this way about those in authority over them. They might try to justify breaking good rules because they don’t like whose in charge. But God wants us to respect those in authority and follow the rules placed, no matter how we feel about people. Share with your kids about how you overcome this obstacle and encourage your kids to ask God for help respecting those in authority. For more resources on teaching kids biblical principles, go to cefonline.com.