MIKE: “Lie down here.” So you put Johnny down and cover him up with a little blanket and say, “Now Johnny you just sleep right there.”
He says (whining), “I want to get up.”
“No Johnny, stay down.” So you get your little rod and say, “Now Johnny I’m going to spank you if you don’t stay down.”
“But I want a drink of water. Water! I’m thirsty. Water!”
“Now Johnny I just gave you some water.”
“I gotta go potty.”
OK, so you take him in here and sit him on the pot.
“Johnny, you’re not going in the pot. What’s wrong?”
“I need some more water!”
Now you take Johnny back in and lay him back down on his bed, cover him up and say, “Johnny if you make another peep or sit up, I’m going to give you a spanking.”
Then you hide outside the room and watch the room through the crack in the door. And if you see Johnny start to get up, run in, give him a switch on the leg, and step back out of the room. Don’t talk to him. Don’t carry on a conversation with him. Just ignore him.
You see, if you go in there and say, “Now Johnny, you know I’m going to have to spank you if you keep this up. You understand Johnny you got to stop. OK. I’ll give you another hug. Yes we prayed, but OK we’ll pray again. All right now it’s time to go to sleep.”
All you are doing is rewarding him. You’re teaching that he doesn’t have to sleep when you tell him to go to sleep. By going ahead and giving him a little spanking immediately he gets the idea that he must obey every time.
(Clip taken from The Joy of Training (DVD) by Michael and Debi Pearl.)
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I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. 3 John 4
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My response to the above scenario is "Excellent!" Perfect. That's how it's done.
Thank you for teaching, encouraging, and standing up for traditional child training. Blessings upon you.
I love the way Mr. Pearl "handles" this situation! I've taught all of my children the "head down" command when putting them to sleep and to this day I can tell them to put their head down and they just do it. When little children are tired (especially 'over tired') they need someone to make sense of things for them and tell them what to do. "Put your head down" or "lie down" is what they need to hear. I don't have wars at bedtime and I don't have to spank them at all to have them stay in their beds at naptime. Such a blessing! Thank you Mr. Pearl!!
I appreciate this advice. My son is two and has slept in our bed since he was a baby due to night terrors. We gave in and now are struggling to get him in his own bed. Any other advice would be great.
Thanks
Amy