Dearest Children,

I am your Mother. I love you and I will always love you. By choosing to be a mother I have taken on the following responsibilities:

        To love unconditionally
        To feed, clothe and shelter you from the elements
        To teach you of God and His plan of happiness

As my child I expect the following of you:

         To show love and respect in all that you do
         To clean up after yourself
         To listen as I teach

My unconditional love does not mean that I will pick up your dirty laundry off the floor, if you want it washed put it in a basket. It doesn't mean that I will time after time pick up and put away your toys and books, if you want it keep it put away when you're not using it. It does not mean that I will allow you to make mess after mess in my home and just leave it for someone else to clean up. Just as we have our responsibilities we also have the following rights:

          To be treated with love and respect
          To walk through the house without fear of injury due to the messes left everywhere
          To eat nutritious food on clean dishes
          To wear clean clothes
          To learn and to grow at our own pace
         
To ensure that each member of the family can fully enjoy their rights the following rules and consequences will be enforced. Your rights end when you start infringing on somebody else's.
         1. Anything you leave out will be either put on time out (1st offense) or given away. If you can't/won't take care of it you don't deserve it.
         2. Any refusal to clean up after yourself will result in a time out until you are willing to clean it up.
         3. You will not leave the house without wearing clean clothes, if you don't have any then maybe you should have put them in the dirty basket so I could wash them.
         4. After meals you will put your dishes in the sink and help clear any serving dishes. Refusal to do so will result in bread and water at your next meal.
        5. Treat each member of the family with love and respect. Disrespectful behavior will first be reprimanded and if it continues will lead to loss of privileges.

I will no longer sit back and allow you to walk all over me.