Parental advice you already know: Keep your promises/threats
Children have better memories than you think - especially when they turn 2.
One day you're distracting this little baby, making empty promises to get them to eat or sleep or some other thing. "Look, it's a cat!" followed by shoving the spoon into her mouth. Or "if you finish your milk I'll take you to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse". Maybe even "Hush little baby don't say a thing, Daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring".
Next thing you know, they'll be asking you "What cat?!! There's no cat you fool!" and "alright Dad, I'm all packed. When do we leave for Disneyland". She might even be dragging you to Soo Kee Jewellery over the weekend.
So, make promises that you intend to keep. Make sure there really is a cat, or look for lizards or birds (which more realistically zip or fly away as in "Ooops! It was just there, it flew away"). Promise a trip to the swimming pool, or to the local supermarket instead. And for the diamond ring? How about a Mentos instead? Psst ... don't let Mummy know :)
The same goes for threats. Only make one you will remember or intend to keep. If you're not the violent type, don't say "I'm gonna whoop your ass" because they know you won't, and it will only hurt your credibility. If you threten to spank, do it - not just because you want to discipline them (which I think every respectable parent should try to achieve), but also because you want them to take you seriously. If not, it's gonna be "you better finish your homework or I'll whoop your ass" and the child will say "right dad, you are SO going to whoop my ass, get out of here, who are you kidding? You've been saying that for years!"
Then there are those that they will, sooner or later, figure that you just cannot keep because they are either impractical or just impossible. Holiday airplane tickets might have already been purchased, downpayments for birthday parties already made and so on. You can only push your luck so far. I think if you give them some time, they will also realise that are really aren't going to cut off their fingers, remove their eyeballs or amputate any part of their bodies, so I try to not use those because one day someone is going to say "sure dad, go ahead, cut off my finger, here! Oh, the knife is over there, use the sharp one and make it quick as I have to finish my piano practise. Oh wait, I won't be able to ..."
Being kind? Being fierce? Be disciplined about it.
One day you're distracting this little baby, making empty promises to get them to eat or sleep or some other thing. "Look, it's a cat!" followed by shoving the spoon into her mouth. Or "if you finish your milk I'll take you to Disneyland to see Mickey Mouse". Maybe even "Hush little baby don't say a thing, Daddy's gonna buy you a diamond ring".
Next thing you know, they'll be asking you "What cat?!! There's no cat you fool!" and "alright Dad, I'm all packed. When do we leave for Disneyland". She might even be dragging you to Soo Kee Jewellery over the weekend.
So, make promises that you intend to keep. Make sure there really is a cat, or look for lizards or birds (which more realistically zip or fly away as in "Ooops! It was just there, it flew away"). Promise a trip to the swimming pool, or to the local supermarket instead. And for the diamond ring? How about a Mentos instead? Psst ... don't let Mummy know :)
The same goes for threats. Only make one you will remember or intend to keep. If you're not the violent type, don't say "I'm gonna whoop your ass" because they know you won't, and it will only hurt your credibility. If you threten to spank, do it - not just because you want to discipline them (which I think every respectable parent should try to achieve), but also because you want them to take you seriously. If not, it's gonna be "you better finish your homework or I'll whoop your ass" and the child will say "right dad, you are SO going to whoop my ass, get out of here, who are you kidding? You've been saying that for years!"
Then there are those that they will, sooner or later, figure that you just cannot keep because they are either impractical or just impossible. Holiday airplane tickets might have already been purchased, downpayments for birthday parties already made and so on. You can only push your luck so far. I think if you give them some time, they will also realise that are really aren't going to cut off their fingers, remove their eyeballs or amputate any part of their bodies, so I try to not use those because one day someone is going to say "sure dad, go ahead, cut off my finger, here! Oh, the knife is over there, use the sharp one and make it quick as I have to finish my piano practise. Oh wait, I won't be able to ..."
Being kind? Being fierce? Be disciplined about it.