With hopeful hearts, we took off in the car. The children started
fighting. I said, “That’s 1, and third count blows the trip.” Sure
enough, they were soon at 2, and then, only halfway to the ice cream
store, they hit a 3. I turned the car around and went home. The TOA
was the outing ending. The kids were not pleased; they looked
stunned and resentful.
A few days later we took another shot at an ice cream outing. We
weren’t three hundred yards from the house when the kids started
fighting again. I said, “That’s 1, and third time blows the trip.” They
hit a 2 and then a 3, and the car got turned around and headed for
home.
I’m sure that before our next attempt at an evening treat the kids
had a conversation among themselves. It probably went something
like this: “Isn’t it a shame that most children in the world, except us,
have normal fathers? Unfortunately, our dad turned out to be a shrink.
But he’s got the car and he’s got the money, so if we want some ice
cream, we’d better put up with his stupid games!”
So, about a week later, our intrepid group once again set out on its
quest. To my amazement, the kids started fighting. As calmly as I
could, I said, “That’s 1, and third time blows the trip.” To my further
amazement the kids instantly became quiet, and they were good as
gold the whole rest of the way. We all enjoyed our dessert.
The moral of this story: Sometimes it takes a few trials for you to
make believers out of the kids. By the way, I’ve often been asked
what to do if one child acts up on the way there and the other one
doesn’t. The answer: The one gets ice cream, and the other one
doesn’t. But don’t expect to enjoy the ride home.
Keep Moving
Another tactic that some parents have used successfully in public