Funny Story - and Question :)

While not using camera - I have told my kids the same thing - I know everything you do - mainly because I email and maintain in contact with the teachers, but the other hand is kids just don't realize how un-sneaky they are being when they are trying to be - LOL!
I think back to all those times wehn I thought I was so smooth - I bet my mom had my ticket the whole time:)

My daughter just turned three and I am a stay at home mom so I haven't had to make up anything yet.

But one time when I was working at the call center, I got a phone call from a obviously fed up dad. I was half way through my, Thank you for calling...when I heard,

"Hello Disney Land? I am calling to tell that if my girls do not start behaving we will not be coming this year." then some wailing in the back ground followed by silence...then "Thanks." and he hung up. Laughed all day about that.

My friend has something really similar happen but instead of Disney land they pretended to call Santa in the North Pole.

My best friends daughter had to have her tonsils out and refusing to take her medicine. So I told her if she was good and took all of her medicine then I would bring her a present from Florida (we were getting ready to visit). So anytime she refused to take the medicine my friend would say she was going to call "Aunt Jen" and tell her not to bring your present. Worked like a charm. :)

I think that's so cute and funny. And so awesome. Let him think you can see him all the time. Just extra insurance that he will choose correctly or at least think twice. Use it while he believes you. That's priceless. No harm at all. :)

My 18 yr olds name is Devan. It is an unusual name for a girl. She asked me one day at about age 3 why she had that name. I was in a particularly goofy mood, so I told her a story. She also had 2 large freckles on her head, right about the spot where devil horns would be. LOL (see where this is going) SOooo, I told her that when she was born, we snapped off her horns, and changed hger name from Devil to Devan, and that's how she got her name. Also, that is why she is such a good little girl, because she didn't have her horns anymore. Funny thing is, she was a pretty good kid, and whenever I would catch her thinking about doing something she wasn't supposed to, she would stop and say to herself....... I can't do that. My horns ar gone so I have to be a good girl. She even shared the story with her preschool teacher, and told her that is why she has to be a good girl. The teacher laughed so hard she spit her drink out of her mouth. I really don't advocate telling lies to your child, but it was just one of those days and I was in such a goofy mood. Why I did it is still a mystery. LOL! She is 18 now, and loves the fact that she thought she was tyrned into an angel from a devil when she was born. LOL! (obviously she knows it's a made up story, but it is one of her fun childhood memories) Oh, the things we do to and with our kids! :)
I also had my older girls CONVINCED that they would have a black line down the center of their tongue when they told a lie when they were younger. LOL! (I could always tell by the look on their faces because they were HORRIBLE liars) This worked until they were probably about 8 or 9 yrs old. I almost forgot that one!!! They knew it was a black line that only Moms could see. (not even Dads could see it) LOL! They HATED when I told them to stick ouot their tongues. If I did, they usually fessed up to whatever they had been asked or not being honest about before showing me. They were certain I would see the line. OMG! Too funny!

That is so cute!!!
Good Job Mama!

My kids believe that I have eyes in the back of my head. I thought my 7yr old was done believing it but we were in the car a few weeks ago and my daughter kept saying "look M." and I kept telling her I couldn't turn around while I was driving. After about the 5th time of saying it, my 7yr old says "why can't the eyes in the back of your head see it"...lol!
Thankfully about the same time, I got stopped at a red light so I could turn around and look at the picture she was trying to show me.

I'm not a fan of the "I can always see what you're doing" tactic. From an early age my kids have known that they have a right to their privacy, as do all people. It would have freaked both of them out to think I was ALWAYS watching (I have one child who was very literal).

For good behavior, when they were little, I just tried to catch them "in the act" of doing something good, and then praise them for it.

They also learned at an early age that lying would double the consequence, and so far, we haven't had a problem (knock on wood).

I *get* what you're saying, and the jest in your post - hope I don't come across the wrong way. Just my thoughts.

Your kid is going to have a big brother complex someday! I usually just ask the adult in charge how my 4 year old's behavior was and the answer is almost always "she was great." She knows she loses privileges when she misbehaves (TV time, computer games, outside privileges, toy removal, etc.). Currently, I am taking away a piece of Halloween candy for each offense. She has been having a rough week when it comes to bedtime. As for telling the truth, she just does it because she knows she will lose a privilege for longer if she lies about whatever the bad behavior was in the first place.

At 4 my kid was old enough for us to explain that his behavior will always have a consequence. For example, I'll tell him that his main job in the mornings is to obey the sitter and get to school on time. By throwing his coat in the street, he didn't obey and he was almost late for school. So, he didn't do his job well, thus, he needs to do a better job. He knows he will be held accountable for his actions.

We still deal with him this way and its really helped now that he is in public school.

gl!

What happens when he does something bad and you don't call him on it because it doesn't get reported back to you?

It's a great way to get a 4 yo to behave when you aren't right there with them, but if the only reason he is behaving good is because he'll get "caught" if he behaves bad and gets punished, then once he figures out how to get away with it, the bad behavior will start again.

I suggest you find a way to make good behavior more rewarding than bad behavior.

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Well, I don't seriously use this stuff to discipline. In your case, I probably would have told the truth, that his actions were catching up with him, etc.

However, I used to tease my daughter. I once said something sarcastic to my husband about how "Moms have eyes in the backs of their heads..." My daughter (around age 2 1/2 -3 heard this, and I teased her, "Yes, I have a M. eye and I can see you even if I am not looking." I told her it grows when Moms are pregnant and she can't see it because it would look funny to have an eye sticking out from my hair. To my surprise she totally bought it for months. I felt sort of bad about it but it was funny.

Likewise, we have teased our kids that they had tails when they were born, but they fall off when they are babies like the umbilical cord stump does. I even showed my daughter her "tail" on her sonogram. However, they tend not to believe this one so easily. But it makes them wonder.

I like the story Jennifer told. I play Santa at christmas. Multiple times I was talking to the kids about doing their chores at home. The moms would often chime in and tell the kids that the moms had my cell phone number.

So one time my cell phone rang and I saw it was a telemarketer while I was taling to one of those kids. So I answered it and listened to the spiel for a couple of seconds, then said, "So mom, you don't want me to bring kathy any toys becuse she is not being good. How is Bob doing? Ok, I'll remember to come by for Bob.. Bye, See you at Christmas Eve." The mom gave me a thumbs up and a real big smile.

She made it a point to stop by a couple of weeks later without the kids to thank me.

Good luck to you and yours.

mine have been without computer time for at least a month now...not that it's helped any. i have told the younger kids that i have invisable eyes in the back of my head and can see what they are doing. all moms have them ya know. they basically don't realize that we werent born yesterday and that when they don't look at us doesnt mean we arent looking at them. i think these are like santa is real type lies...they figure out we were just playing with them when they get older. my oldest daughter lost all her beloved stuffed animals and tv. so what did she do ...she watches tv in her sisters room. i wish she wouldnt as this takes away the affect i was hoping for but she won't listen. my kids are great kids for the most part and i hate punishing them especially when it does no good but i have to try right?!