Why Threatening Your Kids Never Gets It Done

Kids are such tiny little blessings. They’re also the most maniacal, crazed lunatics on the planet when they do not get their way and something is not to their satisfaction. It can be something big, such as a missed birthday party or something small, such as an imperfectly circular sandwich. Kids are unpredictable little ticking time bombs at all times. That’s why we love them. They keep us on our toes and challenge us to remain calm and patient, and to be the kind of parents we always dreamt of becoming. What do you do when your little ones are misbehaving? Do you pull out the old-fashioned tried and true threat? I know I do it; “If you don’t stop it right now, mommy is going to XYZ,” in hopes my little angels will understand I mean business and straighten up. The threats; do they work? In reality, no; threats do not work. And we will tell you why.

It’s You

You don’t follow through. You use threats and then you do not follow through with them. You cannot tell a child that if he or she does something one more time you are going to do something and then never do it. They learn very quickly that mommy and daddy aren’t actually going to do this because it’s a bit of an inconvenience for them, and then your threats become useless.

You Can Make it Work

If you want to effectively threaten your kids, you have to make reasonable threats and then follow through immediately. If you tell a child you’re taking away her favorite doll for the rest of the day if she continues to throw a fit in the store and she does not stop her inappropriate behavior, take that doll away from her and don’t give it back until the following day.

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