Sometimes we all say dumb things to our kids in hopes that they will change their behavior. We make threats that we will never follow through on which only reinforces the child’s bad behavior.

Try to be more creative in your thinking. It is not always easy to outwit a toddler, lol, but it can be done! CNN.com has a cute article about this in their parenting and health section. Quirky Discipline Rules That Work is an article by Barbara Rowley where she tells us an idea that helped give her more time in the evening:

"You can’t just announce a rule to your husband and kids that says, "Bedtime has to go really smoothly so I can get a break at the end of the day." It won’t happen. But if you flip the problem and make a rule about you instead of telling everyone what they have to do, it all falls neatly — and miraculously — into place. When this occurred to me, back when my oldest was 6 and my youngest was nearly 2, I announced to Anna and Taylor that the U.S. Department of Labor had just created a new rule and I was no longer allowed to do any kind of mom jobs past 8 in the evening. I would gladly read books, play games, listen to stories of everyone’s day, give baths — the whole mother package — before then. Then I held firm — I acted as if it were out of my hands. Sort of like Cinderella and midnight. Suddenly, my 6-year-old (and my husband) developed a new consciousness of time. My daughter actually rushed to get ready for bed just after dinner so that we could have lots of books and time together before I was "off." My husband, realizing that if things dragged past 8 he’d have to face putting both girls to sleep himself, became more helpful. Anna’s now 11, and my hours have been extended, but the idea that I’m not endlessly available has been preserved and integrated into our family routine."

I can see how this worked because children are impressed by authority (maybe not my authority but everyone else’s it seems!). The article contained several other good ideas and presents it all with a chuckle.