I am always trying to explain to her that if I cant remember all the

rules how are my kids going to. I am trying hard to wrap my brain around
principles... I can remember them.>>>

One of the kids that live near us, said rather astonished, "you don't
have any rules do you?" I looked at him and said, "yes we do, they are,
play nicely and behave kindly." He didn't think those were rules, and
they aren't really, but that's where it all seems to come down to. A
rule of no hitting, could be summed up nicley with "be nice", because
clearly hitting isn't nice. Being nice, covers it all.

A kid could easily not break the rule of "no hitting", by pinching or
kicking, and completely get away with it, and feel pretty darn good
about getting away with being mean without getting in trouble. If the
idea is to "be nice", pinching or kicking won't work.