"My house, my rules"

[protege]

edit- oh, and Protege? that's pretty funny. yeah, I think that would make him shut up fast.

Yep, he got pwned. He was pissed, but there was nothing he could come back with

[Gravekeeper]

I'd say we've safely established "My house, my rules" is a subjective statement depending on what its regarding, the parent and child involved, age of the child, etc. My mom never used the term so I can't really speak of it from a personal standpoint.

For parents of friends, I only ever heard tell of it invoked when it involved Serious Things(tm) like alcohol, drugs or dry humping on the couch when they thought their dad had gone to bed. ;p

[Shangri-laschild]

I think it depends a lot on the context. A mom I know for instance likes the front porch light to be left on. She goes out on alarm calls at night and feels safer with it on. Her son doesn't like it on and will turn it off. It's her freaking house. She shouldn't have to justify wanting an outside light to be left on (no, he pays for none of the electricity or anything else really). It's not the only example with them but most of them are situations where that is not how she wants things done in her house, for good reason. I can see some situations where yeah, the fact that it's your house should matter. Reasoning with the children and explaining about rules is a good idea but sometimes in the end it comes down to "because I've decided that that is the rule whether you agree with it or not. Just because a kid is old enough to be reasoned with does not mean that they are going to agree with you.