Summarize this article:

The  rules you set in your household are the foundation for how everyone in the family interacts and relates to one another. These rules provide structure about how your children should or shouldn’t behave.  Clearly communicate the standards you expect from your children and enforce them when necessary. Make the ground rules a part of the fabric of your home life. Post them in common places and frequently refer your children to them when rules are broken. Make sure that both the rules and the consequences for breaking each rule are clearly stated, and that everyone understands them. Set a good example for your kids by following the rules, as well as enforcing them. Promote family bonding by creating plentiful opportunities for your kids to have fun together. Make sure  siblings play together, do activities together, and support one another’s hobbies and interests.  Get your kids more interested in family activities by involving them in the planning. If your kids disagree about what kinds of activities they want to do together, encourage them to compromise. If your children are old enough to discuss their experiences in the family, start having regular meetings. During this time, the floor should be open for everyone to express their thoughts and opinions about what’s happening in the household. Use these meetings as a platform to isolate problems and work together to devise solutions. Establish some ground rules for these meetings, such as everyone should get a chance to talk (respectfully) and everyone else must listen without interrupting. Boundaries are a necessary element in all healthy relationships, sibling relationships included. In a family meeting, introduce the topic of personal boundaries and have each child develop a reasonable list of boundaries to share with the family.  For example, if a sibling wants to borrow something, a boundary might be to ask permission first. If permission isn’t granted or asked and the person borrows something anyway, the boundary has been violated. You can also talk to your kids about setting personal space boundaries. For example, you might make it a rule that everyone has to knock before entering someone else’s bedroom, and that requests for privacy must be respected. Emphasize the importance of others respecting these boundaries. Encourage children to enforce their boundaries with one another before involving a parent. Offer opportunities for your children to work as a team, such as washing the dishes together or picking up toys together. This helps cooperation become more natural for them. When you see them cooperating with one another, reinforce the positive behavior with praise.  For instance, you might say, “It’s so wonderful to see you two working on that puzzle together.” You might even treat them when you see them working as a team. As your children become older, they will start to develop more of an identity beyond the family. Support their identity development by allowing them to go through different phases without harsh criticism from the rest of the family.  For example, if your teen daughter decides to become a vegetarian, discourage your son from teasing her with meat at dinner. To help encourage this, you might repeat a phrase like "Remember, in this family, we encourage individuality."

Summary:
Communicate and enforce household rules. Plan family activities. Initiate family meetings. Encourage all the children to set personal boundaries. Promote and praise teamwork. Encourage them to accept individual differences.