NEW GLOUCESTER – Almost everything at Opportunity Farm is strictly controlled.

A list of acceptable and unacceptable snacks is posted on the refrigerator door. No chips or soda. Vegetable sticks are OK.

Kids must earn points to talk on the phone with their friends or to go out to a movie. Points are earned for good behavior, such as not calling others names.

Like the boys, the girls have chores that mirror those in a traditional family. They help make dinner or pick up the house. They must make their own beds and are responsible for keeping their rooms clean.

When a visitor drops by, the girls are prompted to politely introduce themselves.

That’s a rule that is harder to comply with than some of the others, for 15-year-old resident Tiffany Canney.

“Introduce yourself.’ It’s constantly, Introduce yourself.’ What if I don’t want to?” she said.

Tiffany and her seven housemates also are given plenty of structured activity at the farm.

This past summer, most of the girls spent their mornings in summer school or day camp.

Afternoons were spent in Welch House recreation program with the family teachers, where silent reading, community service, arts and crafts were mandatory.

They earned points for good behavior. They lost points for bad.

The lower the points, the fewer the privileges.

Farm officials say the rules help the kids learn self-control and responsibility. They teach them how to live in a family.

So far, Opportunity Farm girls have moved through the tiered point system more quickly than the boys have. Impulsiveness, which often lands the boys in trouble, is less of a problem for the girls, officials said.

The girls covet perks, such as greater freedom, and work hard to earn them early.

But Tiffany has had trouble adjusting to the rules.

Less than six months after arriving at the farm, she is torn between staying and leaving.

She believes Opportunity Farm, with its rules and family teachers, can help with her anxiety and her problem behavior.

But changing behavior learned over a lifetime is difficult.

“They know I can do it. I know that I can do it. But it’s not as easy as they think it is,” she said.