Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about rules of procedure in each of the homes. To begin with, if mom and dad had been able to agree with each other before all this madness or, at the very least, learned to arrive at a compromise in a civilized and supportive manner, they would still be living together as mom and dad under one roof…but such is not the case. However, now that they are both freed from the choking constraints of the other’s opinions and actions regarding how to properly raise a child, they can set up a system that works best for them in their own separate homes. Unfortunately for the child, they are usually not the same in practice even though they are most times the same in theory. Oh, and woe be unto the child who can’t remember which rules go with which home.

For instance, everyone knows that a child must do their homework before they return to school the next day. But must they do it when they first get home or can they relax for a little while and watch TV? Dad votes for the relaxing method first, mom says uh, uh. Or should they be watching any TV at all during the weekdays? Mom votes yes, and dad no.