Now This is How the "Mommy Count" is Done.

[Can I Help Your A$$?]

As I was working the floor today, I heard a child screeching next to some of those horrid impulse buys at the checklanes--crap they won't remember buying in a day or so.

"I WANT IT I WANT IT!!!" or some variation of that theme we hear so often.

Mom: "This is not how we behave in a store..."

Child: "SCREEEECH!!! WAH GARBLE!"

Mom: "One...."

...


Silence. Blessed silence.

This mom had practice. Anyone could tell. She rules.

[Red_Dazes]

Win


....that is all

[RecoveringKinkoid]

I guess so, but if Mom counts to three, why would the kid knock it off before two or three?

That is why I dont do the count thing. I don't consider there to be any more to say after the "one" count.

I imagine it must work for some folks because lot of people do it.

[Pairou]

I think it gives the kid three seconds to actually decide s/he wants to stop shrieking his/her head off and the consequences of continuing to be a demon-possessed little zit.

I swear I've heard a psychological explanation somewhere...

[wheeitsme]

I once let my mom get to "Th".

When she said we'd be sorry, it wasn't a threat, it was a statement of fact.

She knew what she was doing.

[MaverickGypsy]

I definitely did the counting thing for my kids. The only difference is, they never knew when 5 was coming. I might count 1 2 3 4 5, or I might count 1 2 5, or maybe 1 5. Which ever way I did it, they knew if I reached 5, they were toast.

[Kristev]

Actually, it's a technique that works wonderfully well. I've seen parents in Wal-Mart use to great effect when their kids don't behave. Of course, nearly all of those parents are European. Idahoan parents seem too much like children themselves to know how to raise them.

[DeltaSierra]

When I was a kid - the punishment got proportionally worse the longer we let Mom count...we'd stop at One too!!!

[Jangles the Moon Monkey]

I count backwards from five to give boyo a chance to calm down. It works. Funnily enough, I do that with my dogs as well.

[Bobsentme]

I laughed out loud.
That mom is full of win.

Glad to see good parenting is still alive.

[Supermarket Slave Girl]

My mother used that on my sister and I and it always worked. I use it on my kids now and they know that if I get to three there's hell to pay.

[Seshat]

I guess so, but if Mom counts to three, why would the kid knock it off before two or three?

That is why I dont do the count thing. I don't consider there to be any more to say after the "one" count.

It gives the child (or cat, or dog) time to process the information. "One" catches their attention, "two" gives them time to figure out what behaviour to stop. As the child (or animal) develops the skills, you can speed up the count, or escalate disapproval as the count gets higher, or whatever.

In my experience using it on my animals, though, the time matters.

[Captain Trips]

.... I dont do the count thing. I don't consider there to be any more to say after the "one" count.

Maybe this mom also doesn't go past "1" - since the kid stopped then, we don't really know. And it sounds like she doesn't need to, either.

If only ALL parents knew how to discipline their kids, this would be a much better world as those kids grow up.

[Megg]

If I get to two, it's a bad day for my daughter, and she knows it. I never get past one, either. She LOVES that DS and her TV. Good on that mom!!

[Seraph]

I do that myself, lol. I give a three downcount. My 2 year old is has been pushing "one"....but...thats a 2 year old for you.