Stop

Have you ever tried to get a toddler to stop?  It's really hard! 

We never had much luck with the word "Stop!", no matter how emphatically it was yelled.  What worked for us you ask?  "Hot, hot! Burn baby!".

Whenever the kids would get close to the stove when it was on, Deane and I would both yell out "Hot, hot! Burn baby!". You'd think the fact that both of their parents were going berserk would be enough to get the kids to stop, but no, you'd be wrong.  They would insist on touching the door of the oven.  It was the outside, but it was still hot to a tiny hand.  They were not injured, but the physical sensation (along with the berserk screaming) created a Pavlovian response in our children.  

From then on (they both learned this in their own time), whenever we would say "Hot, hot! Burn baby!", their immediate reaction would be to sit down.

This comes in handy when you are trying to keep your fleeing toddler from racing into the street and oncoming traffic.  The neighbors might you're nuts for screaming "Hot, hot! Burn baby!", until they see your child freeze and sit where they were. 

It's really a handy little trick!

What do you do to get your kids to stop?