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

[Cazzi]

I always found that one very effective when my 2 were small

[RecoveringKinkoid]

See, my problem with it is that I don.t want her to think she can wait to comply with my wishes. Especially if she,s about to do something dangerous.

I figure if I tell her to stop, and she doesn,t, its repeated disobedience.

Clearly it works for some people.

[wheeitsme]

...and I remember hearing my brother start the count once, with his boys. He started with "Two...", and when I asked my nephews about it they told me that "1 was we should've known not to do it in the first place"...LOL!

[Taz]

I use the count with my 7 yo. I rarely need to go past one. The count works for me because she usually doesn't know what the specific consequence will be but does know she won't like it. And on the days she feels like pushing the count, I ask her if she realllly wants me to get to three and that stops her.

RecoveringK - if the situation is dangerous, counting is out - it becomes Stop NOW!

[Ben_Who]

I think it works because, rather than just drop the hammer, it gives the child the chance to control his behavior on his own, which is something very small children really need to learn. Apparently immediate sanctioning isn't nearly so effective a teaching method. Of course, I'm getting this information from the crappy parenting columns that run in the Sunday paper rather than any real world experience, so what do I know?

My mother had her own version. She'd threaten to take us to the Ladies' Room.

I'm not quite sure why this was so mortifying a prospect. Unless I have a really dim understanding of what goes on in a ladies' room, it's not as if she was threatening to take us to Room 101 or some torture dungeon. But it worked every time. The prospect of absolute privacy during a confrontation was not a desirable one - the parent always wins those. She could do whatever she wanted to punish us in there, and our little trick of trying to publicly humiliate her into compliance wouldn't work.

I can't say for sure that this is the reason. However, I reached adulthood without ever once seeing the inside of a ladies' room, so I can certainly argue in favor of its effectiveness.

Love, Who?

[Seshat]

See, my problem with it is that I don.t want her to think she can wait to comply with my wishes. Especially if she,s about to do something dangerous.

"No!" means "stop right this moment, you're in immediate danger and don't know it"

"One..." means "think about what you're doing"

[Pure Caitred]

I've tried this approach before when I'm babysitting. It works, but I'm not sure what to do if I actually get to three, since they're not my kids and I'm not too sure about the parents' methods

[Geek King]

I've tried this approach before when I'm babysitting. It works, but I'm not sure what to do if I actually get to three, since they're not my kids and I'm not too sure about the parents' methods

Always, ALWAYS, ask the parents what punishments are viable before they leave. A good sitter needs to be able to dish out the punishment just as the parent to ensure the kid knows that the sitter isn't "get away with murder time."

[draftermatt]

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

My mother used the 1-2-3 all the time, and I can't think of a time that we didn't calm down after 2.

But once I got older (and larger than her) she'd say "1", I'd reply "2".

I wanted to see if she had a plan for once she hit "3".

She didn't.

Incidentally I was 12 and I was upset about something other than toys, I think it was something about school, and we were at home so it's not like I was making a scene.

[Crossbow]

"No!" means "stop right this moment, you're in immediate danger and don't know it"

"One..." means "think about what you're doing"

Being in the SCA, my friends taught their daughter that "No" meant don't do something, and "HOLD!" meant immediate freeze. She might whine or cry at "No," but I've never seen her do anything other than stop at "Hold."

[RecoveringKinkoid]

SCAdian kids (heck, SCAdian adults) are taught to freeze when they hear a hold. Not holding could get you hospitalized.

Because people with limited visibility are waving around clubs. Those guys freeze, too.

[Crossbow]

SCAdian kids (heck, SCAdian adults) are taught to freeze when they hear a hold. Not holding could get you hospitalized.

Because people with limited visibility are waving around clubs. Those guys freeze, too.

Damn straight. Then again, when I call "Hold", cops freeze in place....

[QASlave]

You must have seen my wife. (Kids know better than to mess with Momma, and Daddy won't be too happy either when he finds out.)

[tropicsgoddess]

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

Glad to see good parenting is still alive.

Amen to that! Now that was an epic win for the Mom.

[DemoDiva]

My mom had us trained to the snapping of fingers. When she snapped, it usually meant we were doing something bad and to stop immediately and come to her side.

I'm 21 and live 7,000 miles away from my mom. I STILL instantly look up guiltily whenever I hear snapping fingers.