What are your craziest parenting tactics and tricks? #CloroxLounge

All parents can answer the question on "What was your craziest parenting tactic or trick to get your kid to.........?" You fill in the blank! I've been a mom for almost 18 years so I know that I have plenty to share! 


How about food? Ever use any tactics or tricks to get them to eat? My youngest as a toddler only wanted to eat meat that was chicken. So for the first 4 years of her life that is all she would eat. Well, not really. We told her that every meat was chicken. We started calling steak, chicken steak. Then bacon was chicken bacon. Yes, even pork was chicken pork. I still don't know why she only wanted to eat chicken. Other family members played along with us. It worked and she ate her food. Strange? YES! But it worked.


How about cleaning their room and picking up toys? How many times have you sang the "Clean up Clean up everybody everywhere" Barney song to get the kids to clean up their toys? I know that we sang it  A LOT when they were little. Sometimes I still sing in (ok in my head) now that they are teens! I have a lot of crazy tactics and tricks on this subject but I will just share two of them. 

• Cleaning their room- Kids need to learn responsibility for their own belongings and their own room. As a little one they need to be taught about picking up. This of course involves toys, clothes, etc.. At one point in their growing up years, I told my girls to pick up their room and anything left not picked up and put away would get picked up, by me, and donated to children who actually needed them and would take care of them (I know this was a lie because all kids are going to toss things on the ground and leave them until the parents did just what I was doing.) Anyhow I did this one time. Things that didn't get picked up by them, did get picked up by me. I went through and picked up things and gave them away. They were not happy campers but whenever I gave that warning, they did pick up there belongings. 
• The second one that I love is the $.25 money basket. I had a basket in the house that I would add things to that I found around the house that they left and didn't pick up. The girls would have to pay to get the item out of the basket. Yes, that included a shoe, favorite toy or book, even money and more. The girls still talk about this today as teens. Hmmm...I think it is time to bring back the teen money basket. I will up the price to $1 though! 

Bribery- We didn't have to do too much bribery which I'm happy about. I will admit though there were times that I did pay the youngest to do something. She was always hesitant to try something new. I'm talking food, swimming, diving off the diving board and  more. I do recall paying her $.25 to try this and that over the years. It was just enough to give her an incentive to try something new. 

Ok I don't think my parenting tactic and tricks are too wild but they were used and I don't regret doing them. How about you? I know you have something to share. I would love to hear your crazy parenting tactics and tricks!

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