Do you hear me?

Has this happened to anyone? I was at the mall today in the play area (which I rarely go into these days due to time) and a little girl went zooming down the slide and ran into two little kids at the bottom. Now, she may not have been five, but she was old enough to understand. Her mother came over and I explained what happened (the little baby was crying) and she told her daughter to go sit on the bench, but first to apologize to the children. Did the little girl do either? No, and did the mother follow through on either? Nope. Several times she tried this with her daughter. And the little girl ignored her and kept on playing.

The moral of the story-It is so important for our children to understand that when we say something, we mean it. If they learn, as this little girl clearly has, that mommy or daddy may threaten but never follows through, they actually have control over the situation, and to an extent, us as parents. Sometimes it's very difficult to do this, especially if we are in a restaurant, or with other people. Then I would strongly suggest we don't make a threat we can't keep. Say something that you can follow through with-even, for those children 3 and older, if the punishment comes in a day or two. John Rosemond explained in his book "Parenting By the Book" that once a child is 3, his/her memory has developed enough for the discipline to be carried out even a day later. For 5 and 6 year olds, over a few days would still be appropriate.
So my thought for tonight is that I'm going to try to think before I speak and follow through on my threats. Good luck-it takes practice, but it's well worth it in the end!

Why?

Here's my first question. What are some things you've said to your children that has caused them to ask "why?"

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my blog! Blogging is a very new concept for me, so bear with me if you respond to something I've posted and it takes a few days for me to comment. I will make every effort to reply to all postings on my site, however it may take me a few days to figure out how to do it! :)
Ok, a little about me...I'm a mommy of two, my daughter is 6 and my son is 3 1/2. Sometimes I feel like I have more children between my dog, my cat, and my wonderful husband. Aside from being a mommy, (which is the most important job to me), I'm also a full-time birth-3 teacher, which means that I get to go into people's homes and play with their "babies" all day. Not really. Yes, I get to play with wonderful children from birth to age 3, hence the title, but my job entails much more than that. I am in these folks homes to help them work with their children who have a disability. I "work" with the children as well, which usually means, like I mentioned above, that I get to play. My job doesn't stop here however. I have done a lot of research and attended speakings on the parenting topic. So the other side of my job is to help these parents to be the most successful parents they can be. This ranges from discipline tactics all the way to potty training.
I have created this blog to help other parents (note, it's not just for moms) be the most successful parents they can be. There will be articles that I write, based on current research/public opinions as well as personal experience. I will admit that I don't have all the answers (of course), so I will post questions that I"d LOVE to hear responses to. I may also just post a funny story that I want to share with you all. I would also love to hear your experiences and advice.
So sit back and please enjoy my first attempt at blogging!