threats

do you ever get annoyed with the parent who constantly threatens their child with timeout or leaving right away but never actually can follow through? it's really hard, believe me i know, but you have to come up with realistic threats or rewards for your children.

So this is generally my rule. but it totally depends on noah's mood. I used to be able to motivate him with imaginary horsey treats. sometimes i can motivate him to get into his carseat faster by letting him close his own door. he doesn't get to come to breakfast unless he is dressed. timeout is often an effective threat too--especially when we are at home. but sometimes he doesn't care about these things and i can't come up with something fast enough that relates to the problem and that is immediate (because threatening your kid or promising rewards for future times/dates just doesn't mean anything to them at this age).

That's when you have to go BIG with your threat. think, Phil Dunphy threatening to cancel Christmas.

Well today, noah wouldn't get his shoes, coat and backpack on when leaving his friend's house. So i told him he would have to sleep outside if he didn't get them on. and sure enough, he did it. use these threats sparingly or else they might catch on ;)