Naughty Pen To The Rescue!!!

That slightly out of focus but super cute little photo at the bottom? That is courtesy of the "Naughty Pen".

Perhaps you remember the Naughty Pen?

Its the small enclosure that was the only way I could make time out stick for Sterling.

Otherwise, time out was a constant battle of her jumping up and me putting her back in the same spot for timeout. Over. And over. And over.

Before the naughty pen, we tried to make Time Out a deterrent for weeks, but Sterling never lost her certainty that it was a game. Albeit a whack ass, bizarre one, but a game nonetheless.

And Bennett would crawl up my back and scream in my ear the entire time.

It was hell, pure and simple. With lots of tears and cursing and manic laughter.

And Sterling didn't enjoy it either.

But the Naughty Pen fixed all that. I just plunked her hiney in when she was bad, she hated being in it, and it reinforced that there were consequences to her actions.

When we moved to the new house, my parents kept their naughty pen.

Luckily, my amazing friend M happened to have one that she brought over.

I literally skipped across the yard when I saw it, I was THAT excited…

And it's kind of fascinating how just having the Naughty Pen in the room makes a dramatic difference in behavior.

Before the new Naughty Pen arrived, Sterling was fractious, whiny, and pushed the boundaries. I was frustrated, exhausted, and ready to trade her in on a different model.

But just having our comforting bastion of behavior enforcement sitting in the corner means that suddenly, Miss S remembers how to behave like a human and has been COMPLETELY different ever since.

Now I wont pretend she has been perfect, we definitely have days where she pretty much lives in the Naughty Pen while I question my choice to have kids.

But with the Naughty Pen in the room, we haven't had nearly as many tantrums, she is sharing with B, and he hasn't been hit, kicked, or pushed nearly as much. Except when he really deserves it. Like when he is breathing.

It's been almost peaceful... ish.

I wonder how many other world problems could be solved if we just had more Naughty Pens.

Nope, no need for a Peace Summit, just stick a Naughty Pen in the corner and suddenly everybody plays nice!

Man, I really owe it to the world to be in politics…