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The Rocket Ship Countdown: A Simple Strategy to Get Your Child to Obey Quickly

November 16, 2015 by Meg 3 Comments

IMG_9870 copyThere are so many times every day that I find myself hurrying my three-year-old to do something…brush his teeth, put his shoes on, get in the car, wash his hands, and countless other simple tasks that seem to take him forever. My adorable, yet oh-so-distractable son cannot get from point A to point B without getting side-tracked by C, D, E, F and G.

Initially, I tried to hurry him along with the well known “You have until the count of three” tactic, and sometimes it was effective, but I always felt like it made situations into a power struggle where we both ended up frustrated. So, I started looking for an alternative. And, you know what? I found something that works brilliantly for us. It’s so simple: count DOWN instead of UP.

Specifically, do what I call a Rocket Ship Countdown!

Here’s how it works:

Whenever I need Little Man to do something and he seems resistant, I’ll say, “Okay, let’s do a rocket ship countdown to get started. Five, Four, Three, Two, One, Blastoff!” Most of the time he gets going by the time I get to two and chimes in with “Blastoff” when it’s time. If he doesn’t respond by blastoff, he knows I will pick him up and fly him like a rocket wherever I need him to be.

Why it’s effective:

Yes, I know I’m still counting, but somehow by associating it with rockets shooting into outer space, it becomes fun instead of demanding. I try to keep my voice positive and treat it like a game, so he wants to be involved. It doesn’t always work, but it really gets results most of the time. I have saved myself from hours of whining and staved off quite a few tantrums by simply counting down instead of up.

Try it out!

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Filed Under: Parenthood Tagged With: behavior, motherhood

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Maria Jansson Photography

    February 23, 2016 at 9:16 pm

    Going to try this with my 3 year old! So much better than nagging. We already do the counting…I like the way you think. Just read your about page, and realize that we have a lot in common. These years a re so precious.

    Reply
    • Megan @ The Many Little Joys

      February 23, 2016 at 10:25 pm

      Let me know how it works for you!

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Getting on his level: a behavior experiment | The Many Little Joys says:
    March 9, 2016 at 7:03 am

    […] leap out of their imaginations at the mention of dessert). For a long time, I’ve used the rocket ship countdown strategy, and it’s effective a lot of the time, but lately I’ve found myself getting more and […]

    Reply

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