Now that summer is upon us, my children and I have had a lot of “together” time, to say the least. And, as wonderous and adventuresome the time can be, it can also be a challenge, as my three children would all be considered “high-maintenance.”

At my wit’s end, I drew up what I consider my “parents bill of rights” and, to be fair, I allowed my kids to draw up their “children’s’ bill of rights.” It was actually a fun activity and gave me insight into how my children viewed conflict and what they deemed important.

The picture I’ve included with this post is what is actually posted on our refrigerator. If your eyes are good you can see that each of us has nine “rights.”

As parents, our rights include: Feeling respected, making the rules, imposing discipline, being able to talk on the phone without being interrupted (this is a big one), choosing friends and activities, and having alone time.

As children, my kids have, among others, the right to: Feel safe, be heard (only in a regular voice), have alone time, feel respected, and choose on what to spend their money.

It’s still in its experimental stage, but our “bills of rights” have already come in handy, as we’ve referenced them on several occasions.

And, it got me thinking about our “rights” in a conflict.

What if we respected each others’ rights to be heard, respected, feel safe even in the midst of an argument? Would it be helpful to define our rights BEFORE the conflict even began?

I, for one, am keeping my “bill of rights” on my refrigerator for easy reference–heaven knows, it will come in handy!

Britt