Ah, The Brady Bunch — America’s favorite family. After Carol and Mike fall for each other, they get married and combine their pre-started families. Both having three kids, Carol had all girls while Mike had all boys. Now a family of eight, the Bradys learned to get along under one roof as a blended family.
Premiering in 1969 (and wrapping up after five seasons in 1974), each episode surrounded around family issues in the ’60s that are bound to occur in any household. After 117 episodes though, fans were quick to notice that Mike was head of the household with random speeches about integrity and trust throughout. With every episode practically ending on a good note revolving around family, we learned a lot about the kind of rules the Brady kids had to follow. From the iconic “Don’t play ball in the house!” to making sure Allice isn’t doing the kids chores, these are 10 rules the Brady children had to follow while living under the same roof.
No Playing Ball In The House
After Carol and Mike step out of the house, Greg, Petter, and Bobby decide to throw the ball around. When the ball gets misguided and falls out of sight, it rolls downstairs and breaks Carol’s vase. Struck with horror, Bobby says “Mom always says ‘don’t play ball in the house.'”
Later in the episode, the kids try to glue the vase back together and put it back without anyone noticing. Their lies begin to unwrap, however, after Carol fills the vase with water, exposing the cracks. This made for one uncomfortable dinner conversation after all their stories didn’t add up.
Don’t Be A Tattle-Tale
All the Brady kids tattle-tale at one point or another. With eight people in the house (and wandering imaginations), rumors and ideas are bound to run amuck. However, in one episode, Cindy gets a little carried away by telling people the secrets of others.
In this instance, she told Alice’s boyfriend Sam that she was hugging the postman. In reality, Sam thought Alice was sweet one someone else, but she was simply hugging him after winning a contest. This led to Mike talking to Cindy about not tattling on people or else she’ll be punished.
Don’t Make Alice Do The Kids’ Chores
On a high from being the hall monitor at school, Bobby takes his duties seriously and confronts Jan about her breaking the house rules. Coming into her room, he says “I just saw Alice setting the table… It’s your turn to set the table tonight.”
Annoyed that Bobby even cares, Jan fights back and tells him to mind his own business. “Mom and dad told us not to go pushing off our chores on Alice,” he says. I guess when you’re the hall monitor and you have a live-in housekeeper, rules need to be in place so the kids don’t take advantage of their privileged lifestyle.
Don’t Fight Back — Reason With Them
After Cindy gets made fun of for her lisp, Peter stands up for her in her honor. Unfortunately for Peter, the bully, Buddy Hinton, punches Peter right in the face giving him a black-and-blue eye. Peter didn’t fight back after he was hit, which is following one of Mike Brady’s golden rules: don’t use violence, reason with them instead.
Peter was clearly upset by the situation, which led Mike Brady to head on over to Buddy’s house to have a conversation with his dad. Sadly, Buddy’s dad was just like his son and looked into getting physical as well. Not wanting to turn back on his own rule, Mike decided to use “reason” and walk away from the fight.
Be Home By 11:30pm
In the fourth season of The Brady Bunch, Bobby is chosen as the classroom hall monitor at school. Embarrassed by the job, he decides to get some practice in by patrolling the house, reporting to Carol about all the disruptions by the end of the week.
In one scene, we see Greg sneaking into his bedroom at 11:55pm. Bobby quickly clicks on his flashlight, exposing Greg of his wrongdoings, saying he was 25 minutes late. Greg asked him to be cool and not tell mom and dad about missing curfew, Unfortunately for Greg, Bobby has a job to do and was going to tell Carol anyway.
The Kids Can Only Make Two Phone Calls A Day
In the ninth episode of the first season, “Sorry, Right Number” was about Mike discovering a very high phone bill. To teach the kids a lesson on rationing and the value of a dollar, he lets them know they can only make two phone calls a day.
And to make matters even more interesting, he installed payphone that could only be used when paid for. If they want to make a phone call, they’ll have to earn the money from their allowance. Obviously peeved, the kids learned a valuable lesson.
Put Away Your Toys After Playtime (Before Someone Gets Hurt)
With six kids running around the house, cleaning up after themselves was a huge rule for the Bradys. Not only did Carol expect a clean house, but there’s way too many people in that house to be weaving in and around toys. Alice learned this the hard way in the first season when she tripped on the kids’ toys, spraining her ankle.
Now with Alice on bedrest, the kids had to resume the duties of Alice, learning a valuable lesson in housekeeping, chores, and being appreciative of Alice’s role.
Honesty & Integrity Over Greed
In the episode “The Treasure of Sierra Avenue,” Greg, Peter, and Bobby find $1,100 in a lost wallet. Excited about their newfound fortune, the kids all bicker about what they can get with the money.
Instead of putting the money away in a saving’s account or deciding on one thing the family can spend it on, Mike used this opportunity to teach the kids a lesson: honesty and integrity are more important than greed. Mike then goes on to find the owner of the wallet, much to the kids’ irritation.
School Grades Can’t Suffer Becuase Of Outside Activities
As the oldest kid in the house, Greg comes up with a proposition for his dad; if he gets a job at the architect firm, he’ll use the money to get a car. Carol gets all upset at the thought of her oldest son driving a car, but Mike uses this opportunity as a lesson (class Mike).
Wanting to work part-time at the firm after school days, he’d work until he had enough money to buy a used car. Mike decides to give Greg’s idea a try, however, if his grades start slipping all because he’s trying to make money — he has to quit. The same rule applied to all the Brady kids.
No Spying On Your Family Members
In the episode, “The Private Ear,” Peter learns the excitement of eavesdropping. After hiding in the girls’ room and learning about their secrets, he records their conversation secretly.
He then does the same thing with his brothers and when all their secrets come out eventually, the Brady siblings turn on each other. Both Carol and Mike soon realize the perpetrator is Peter and teach a valuable lesson in not spying on other people.
NEXT: 10 Things That Make No Sense About Gilmore Girls
