“You’ve got your hands full,” the mechanic at the auto service center told me as I was paying for my oil change.
“Yes I do,” I responded, as my boys poked each other, giggled and ran around the small office.
To be fair, we had been waiting for a while in a small space, and it was almost lunchtime. They were actually pretty well behaved. No screaming or anything. They just got antsy at the end.
Disciplining children can be a challenge. And boys certainly can be a handful. My husband and I joked that we needed those yellow and red cards that soccer (or football, to be proper) referees use during matches.
And then I found this Soccer Referee Kit
My new creative discipline / referee kit.
I ordered it immediately. Heck, it was only $4.
What started as a joke became a fun way to discipline the boys. Because, let’s face it, little boys get loud. Sometimes, you need a whistle to get their attention.
They know to stop what they are doing when they hear the whistle. If they get a yellow card, that’s a warning. Another yellow card means a time out. A red card means that the recipient of the card needs to go to their room to cool down a bit.
As Mom, I have the right to go straight to the red card, if I determine an infraction is bad enough to warrant a trip straight to their rooms.
So far, the technique has worked. While they laughed the first time and tried to turn the tables and give me a yellow card, they realized quickly that it was Mom’s kit and not theirs.
Luckily, I haven’t had to use it too much. When I do, they smile and listen. (For the most part. The 3 year old is in the negotiating stage.)
At least I get their attention. And that’s really all I want to do.
How about you? What kind of creative discipline tools have you used to get your children’s attention?
Cynthia Menard says
February 20, 2012 at 5:27 pmAww – this is great! I think my boys would listen better to yellow football flags (I may have to go look for some). I’d just have to make sure they didn’t get their hands on any of the red ‘challenge’ flags…
Cynthia Menard recently posted..Hibernating Bears and Living with Predators, Redux
anotherjennifer says
February 20, 2012 at 7:43 pmWe thought about the yellow football flags, but we decided against it because you have to throw them. That would just invite more mayhem! Didn’t think about the red challenge flag. Too funny!
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Wendy L. Conger says
February 22, 2012 at 2:46 amThis is kinda funny. But true, boys are really hard to discipline. You need to discipline them the hard way! Thanks for sharing it. 🙂