is it wrong?

Nothing like a warm cozy feeling of love served up with a few blows to a kid's sense of security during dinner time.

I think lying to kids is wrong. Don't know if my views will change if I ever become a parent, but I won't go in for the crap of "you haven't got kids, so what would you know?". So I stand by my first statement. Don't teach them to lie to get their own way.

You're correct. Threats and lying are not only a form of child abuse, they are absolutely counterproductive in raising pleasant people.

This is totally wrong ... I grew up that way, listening to nonsense like that, and it didn't help me at all.

I was born in England, and many years later after we moved back to Ireland, my parents would kid around saying "the UK is sending out their guards to collect all their citizens ... " If you don't think that was fun thinking in a child's brain, think again:)

Wrong on a lot of levels. I mean, if it is part of a broad silliness/ storytelling thing that the kid is part of -- "yeah, and then me and the pigs will build a castle and live there forever after!" -- maybe. But if it works, that seems to indicate some sort of fear thing... blech.

Even if it "works" tempoarily, it's making things worse/ harder for the parents (not to mention the kid) later on.

I agree with the others. Not a good thing at all!

Re: is it wrong?


Hehe, I found it kind of humurous reading this. It made me think of a time when I told my baby brother that if he didn't get into his car seat the vaccuum would come up out of our apartment and eat him up. Of course, this being illogical I just laughed it off.. After seeing the distraught looks that he gave the vaccuum if he ever passed it. I stopped. It scared the hell out of him. I would never do it again and I will never do it to Jeremy (my son). Sorry. Sticking with the time out or the desperate 'Honey, if you get in your carseat Mommy will get you a lolly. *enter cheesy grin here*"

Hey breathe, welcome to a2k!

Grand Rapids, hmm, sounds familier.

Sorry - I don't care for the idea.

Once when I was about three or four our family was out camping. As our parents were getting everything packed up and ready to leave, I was out of the way, climbing up and down a nearby wooden fence. My sister (7 years my senior) came by and said "the sign on the fence says trespassers will be shot!". I was terrified I was about to be killed, and went and hid in the car until we left.

I know it sounds funny now, but I was terrified then.