The perfect discipline technique, well almost.

I have what could possibly be one of the greatest parenting tools ever, The Manual Buzzer. Okay, let me explain what the manual buzzer is for those of you who are not acquainted with Jim Rome.

Jim Rome is a radio and television sports commentator of significant popularity these days. He has developed something called, The Manual Buzzer. Basically, if you can imagine a school buzzer that designates the begininng or end of class but produced with the human vocal chords you have the essence of the manul buzzer.

Now, Jim Rome uses it on the callers to his show like the judges of The Gong Show used the gong. It is a way of ejecting callers from the show that are doing something that is just plain wrong, silly or makes no sense. So, on the spur of the moment I decided to eject a behavior I caught my kids in the middle of.

I heard something crinkling in the kitchen and so I ran in their to find the middle two children loading toy plates up with the Fruit Loops that my mother-in-law had bought for them. Instead of counting them, straight up punishing them or getting upset (I was slightly tired) I just said to them, "Okay, you are supposed to ask before getting into those, EEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR." Kids immediately put Fruit Loops down, heads were bowed in shame of being caughter and life was completely perfect from then on, ok, well not perfect but it sured seemed like I had stumbled upon something almost magical in terms of discipline.

Under the Mercy,

Matthew S


Jim+Rome parenting manual+buzzer The+Gong+Show kids discipline