Every once in a while I will think of a rule I would have if I ever had children. I wrote down all the ones I could remember last night and this is what I've got so far....

For the child(ren)

• No allowances
• No sleepovers
• Piano/instrument lessons for at least 5 years
• No snacking between mealtimes
• Must pick up all their things before each meal
• No television/movies during the day
• No PG-13 movies until they're at least 13 years old
• No watching certain movies until they've read the books (LotR, Narnia, Jane Austen, etc...)
• No bragging or self praise
• They must personally greet every new kid in their class/group

For Myself (every time I added one for the kids I made myself add one for me :D)

• Be consistent - enforce rules
• Keep children's strengths/weaknesses in mind when making them do something
• Push them out of their comfort zone - start early - Make them do some of the activities that they don't want to do
• Always try to give positive feedback with constructive criticism
•  Never lie to them, even if it's a "white lie"
• Always be an example of what I'm trying to teach them
• Apply their Bible lessons to their lives - help them to live it
• Pay attention to their feelings and don't disregard any without first putting myself in their shoes
• Be sure to spend time with them regularly, even when I don't feel like it
• Always speak kindly and respectfully about my parents, siblings, and relatives
• Don't give in to begging or whining. If they want something then they must persuade me with reasoning
• Don't let them go around like ragamuffins

What say you? Be they reasonable or no?

Writing stories (or developing the plot at least) is a most diverting pastime. The trouble always lies in keeping one's story from sounding like someone else's. The stories I come up with for my own enjoyment are a patchwork of all the things that have struck my fancy from as far back as I can remember. We watched a movie when I was 5 or 6 years old and I only remember three tiny snippets. Two of those snippets have shown up in one form or another in many of my little stories (there are a vast number). Sometimes I get pieces from trailers for movies that I never watch, or an episode of a TV show that I only watched part of. It is always little bits and pieces that strike me; rarely, if ever, the whole thing. So if someone were to hear one of my stories I wonder if its having taken from so many others would make it seem like an entirely new story or what it is, a patchwork. If the latter I wonder if that would be considered good or bad.