Discipline in a Modern World

You know when I was a kid, if I wouldn't clean up my room, my Dad would threaten to spank me and that was enough to get me motivated.

However, the world has moved on. Yesterday Carlie and Madi were to clean up the room they share....and it was a PIT. Madi went in there and worked a while, but Carlie wouldn't help her. So finally I told Madi she'd done enough and Carlie would have to finish it herself.

She threw the most awful tantrum. I told her that she wasn't going to get to eat dinner until her room was clean. So she laid in her bedroom floor and screamed "I guess I'll just have to eat alot at breakfast in the morning since I'm not going to get any dinner tonight." and better yet "I guess I'm not going to get to eat until I get in High School." or "I'm going to starve to death."

I went in there and spanked her and that didn't work either.

Finally I heard Frank mutter under his breath "Geeze, if that had been me throwing a fit like that you'd have taken pictures and sent them to everyone." And he's right. I have some SPECTACULAR videos of him throwing tantrums when he was little and some pretty recent pictures of big boy tantrums.

So I got my camera phone out and made a video of Carlie throwing her fit. I told her she had 15 minutes to get the room cleaned up, or I was going to post it on Face Book. That did the trick. She had that room cleaned up in a heartbeat...all the while squalling..."No, don't put it on facebook where everyone can seeeeeeee!!!!"

Ahhhhh....kids these days.