Week Two – Family Bill of Rights
Establishing Some Ground Rules
Week Two: Family Bill of Rights
Exercise:
Take a look at your family values from last week.
Using this as a guide, sit down as a family and create your family bill of rights. These are rights that every member of your family has a right to. I’m using my family bill of rights below as an example.
Update the Bill of Rights yearly when you redo your values exercise.
You can also create a list of Family Expectations.
In reality, the Values, Bill of Rights, and Expectations are all different expressions of the same foundation.
They work to create a level playing field for the members of your family. By going through the three exercises you will develop a deep understanding of your foundation, and a dialog of your values.
It also gives members of the family a way to invest in the value system.
When you’ve completed your Family Values, Bill of Rights, and Family Expectations, hang them on the wall. Place the visuals somewhere that they will be frequently seen as visual reminders of the foundation you’ve built.
Get creative. Our family expectations list became a poem, which I share at the bottom of the page.
Examples:
Family Bill of Rights
Every member of our home has the right to:
Be Loved
Be Valued
Be Accepted
Be Curious
Play
Feel Safe
Grow
Be Creative
Fail
Learn
Dream
Work
Be Recognized
Be treated with kindness
Fairness
Stability
Love
Family Expectations
Be Kind
Be Gentle
Be Patient
Stay on Task
Be Thoughtful
Be Present
Be Cautious
Be Brave
Be Helpful
Try Your Best
Be Honest
Be Polite
Be Grateful
Be Considerate
Do what you know is right
Be Fair
Be Generous
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Forgiving
Be Understanding
Learn from Your Mistakes
Be Creative
Be Resilient
Look for Solutions
The following poem makes a great opener to this week’s the exercises.
It’s Good to be Good
It’s good to be kind and gentle with others
It’s good to treat nicely our siblings, sisters, and brothers
It's good to be thoughtful of the things that we do
Whether we’re at home or at school
It’s good to be present and stay on task
Aware of the moment making it last
It’s good to be cautious, and it’s good to be brave
It’s good to find good ways to behave
It’s good to be helpful to those who are near
Lending a hand every day of the year
It’s good to always try your best
Give it your all, and then get rest
It’s good to be honest and tell the truth
And build bonds with people because they can trust you
It’s good to have manners, so we’re not rude
Politeness avoids a lot of attitude
It’s good to be grateful for the gifts in this life
Appreciating people reduces strife
Being considerate is a very good way
Of sharing love with others every day
It’s good to do what you know to be right
Whether or not anyone’s by your side
It’s called having virtue, but really it means
That you’re an ethical human being
It’s good to be fair, and it’s good not to cheat
Whether winning or losing it’s good to play clean
It’s good to be generous, and give of yourself
You can give smiles and gestures and more than just wealth
It’s good to show other people respect
And in return it’s what you should expect
Showing regard to another person
Is a very pro social way to make friends
It’s good to be a problem solver, sorting out the ways
To reduce your stresses and make a better day
Not a victim to your problems, just take time to think
And put it all together; find the missing link
Being responsible saves us from trouble
Taking care of the things in our bubble
Being forgiving is important too
And sometimes you’ll need others to forgive you
It’s good that we learn from our mistakes
Reducing the moments that make our heads shake
It’s good to be creative and bring to life
Art and music, darkness and light
It’s good to be resilient, you’re stronger than you think
It’s good to know that you can overcome a lot of things
It’s good to be good, and it’s good to be you
And there’s good in so many things that you do.
Survivor Literacy 
What do you think?