1...2...3....

Time out!

Is that not how it is suppose to go? I was out at a kid store the other day and this little boy was causing havoc and his mom kept saying M that is not nice, M don't do that, M get back here... then I heard her say M that is ONE (M ignored her) she then said M I said ONE (pause) Ok M ONE!
I thought should that last ONE not be THREE?? No wonder the boy M was not listening, mummy was not following the counting technique right.

Well when Orion and I left the store I bent down to him and said your were such a good boy in the store Orion mummy is proud of you. He smiled and pointed towards the sky to a plane saying Daddeeee.

Seeing what happened in the store I thought that I had better praise my boy for the good, because it did make me realise that I need to tell him more often that mommy is proud of him when he is good and that I did notice.

This is what I have read and heard you should do:
Give verbal warnings first (if possible): Verbal warnings allow the child to make choices about their behaviour and learn to change behaviour before the discipline is required.
One good technique for verbal warnings is Counting to Three: When a child is doing something wrong you say, "That's One". Then wait a few seconds. If they are still doing the unacceptable behaviour say, "That's Two". Wait a few more seconds and say "That's Three, Time Out. [Explain reason for Time-out here]". Then you escort them to the Time-out area.

Then Today I was out with my mum at the mall (My dentist) and we sat to have a bite to eat and just before we were to get up to leave I noticed this little boy sitting on the ground (pouting) I looked to see where his mom was she was sitting at a chair just a few steps away from him. She called to him and he did not listen so I heard her say ONE...... he still did not respond to her then she said TWO.... (I thought oh here we go, I wanted to see what happened... I am looking for tips) then she said that's 2 and a half....what??? once again where is THREE. So my mum and I left and that little boy was still on the ground just in a different spot.....

By all means I am not the perfect parent no one is, but seeing what others do does help me in learning what to do....... and in my learning and watching a parent needs to follow thru... to get the full effect of discipline.

I just have to remember that I have to follow thru and no empty or foolish threats.

Oh and another thing in the news I heard of a lady that left her 4 yr old in the car so she could run to the bank machine, she left the car unlocked and running....... she came back out and it was gone STOLEN with her son in the back seat. The police later found it in a near buy parking lot with the boy safe inside (thank the heavens) they think that the thief saw the boy in the back seat parked it and high tailed it out of there.
This mother was VERY lucky that nothing happened to her son.

Yes it is tempting to think you could run in and out of a store really fast and leave your kid/s in the car, but come on you have to use common sense and do your best at preventing anything bad that can happen to your kid/s and leaving them in the car alone unattended is unacceptable and can lead to disaster.

OK I am done... for now.