Mothers' and fathers' reports of rules and rule behaviors were examined in 200 intact families with seventh-grade boys and girls across three rule domains, both in terms of gender and parental differences and the manner in which rules varied across level of pubertal status. More rules were reported for family obligations and personal habits than for peer relations. Many parents reported that their children had some say in rule formation but relatively few parents had any recent occasion to remind or punish their children about the rules. Although no gender differences were found between boys and girls across the rule behaviors examined, parental differences suggest that mothers and fathers play different roles in rule making and in managing rule infractions and that these roles are in line with gender-related role expectations. Biological maturation was associated with rule frequency, but the findings differed for boys and girls.
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