“I am not, lamebrain. You’re too slow!”
“Be quiet, both of you! Tell me what happened.”
General yelling and chaos follow the ill-fated inquiry.
“OK, that’s 1 for both of you.”
(General yelling and chaos continue.)
“That’s 2.”
Sean turns over the Scrabble board, grabs a bunch of letters, and
throws them at the piano.
“Sean, that’s 3. Take a rest for ten.”
How Did He Do?
Dad recovered pretty well after beginning badly by asking the world’s most
ridiculous question. He should have started counting earlier.1-2-3, Separate!
Joey, eight, and Maddie, six, are in the family room. Joey is playing
with his dinosaurs, and Maddie is working on a puzzle. Janet is a
single mom who is enjoying the peace and quiet while cooking dinner
in the kitchen. Maddie starts humming to herself. After a few
seconds, Joey asks her to stop. She says she won’t. The bickering
escalates.
“Joey, Maddie, that’s 1,” says Mom.
Both children are now on a count of 1, according to the usual
sibling rivalry and counting procedure. In this situation, however, if
the kids hit 3, Mom has decided that she will use a unique form of
time-out alternative that is also a natural consequence of their actions.
(See chapter 12.) The bickering continues through a count of 2, so at 3
Mom says: