Maybe she IS listening

One of the rules in our house is "no throwing." It's the rule Isa hears most often because whenever she's tired or frustrated or cranky, she likes to chuck toys (or anything else she can get her hands on) across the living room floor.

When a toy is thrown, I put that toy into a time-out up on the mantle and she doesn't get it back until the next morning. Since she often just moves onto the next toy to throw, I wasn't sure that this approach was actually teaching her not to throw.

This afternoon, Isa put an old-school Little Person on her finger (yeah for the toys from my childhood that my parents saved!). Then she flicked it across the floor. Before I could say anything, she turned to me and said "no throwing." Then, she picked up the Little Person, walked over to the mantle and held it up for me to put in time-out.

I sat there with my mouth wide open. Hurrah for self-disciplining! Now if she'd just remember the rule and apply it BEFORE doing the action......