The Rules of Survival Themes

In The Rules of Survival, Matthew, Callie, and Emmy live through two extremes of family life. At the beginning, when they live with Nikki, their family life is both terrifying and unpredictable—t...

In The Rules of Survival, Nikki is constantly surprising her kids—and not in a good way. She doesn't cut their sandwiches into cute shapes, or take them on road trips to Disneyland… No, Nikki i...

There are quite a few broken windows, bruises, and car accidents going on in The Rules of Survival, thanks to Nikki's unpredictable and violent presence. Nikki is constantly reacting violently to p...

Even though Nikki leaves for days on end and has her kids fend for themselves, they don't exactly feel free. In fact, Matthew claims that he feels more trapped than ever in The Rules of Survival, b...

For much of The Rules of Survival, Matthew and his siblings are convinced that life just isn't fair. After all, they're stuck with a violent and emotionally-abusive mother who lashes out at them fo...

The tough thing about living with Nikki in The Rules of Survival is that as the sole adult, she has all the power—even though she's not exactly qualified to be the head of her family. Matthew, Ca...

If there is one important lesson to take away from The Rules of Survival, it's that you should never give up. Matthew, Callie, and Emmy come close to giving up a million times, and it's tempting fo...

Even though the Walsh kids have lived in the same house all their lives in The Rules of Survival, it doesn't feel like a real home to them. Homes are supposed to be safe and comfortable, and Nikki...

In The Rules of Survival, Nikki isn't exactly a stellar mom or role model. She is constantly lying in order to get her own way, and the kids watch her trick people time and again. When she starts d...

The adults in The Rules of Survival are all challenged to make serious choices about their role in keeping the Walsh kids safe. Are they going to rise to the responsibility, or are they going to ru...