The Man in Charge.

Emma is 4. She still believes there is a "man in charge" every where we go.
This man is watching and she will pay attention to the rules when he is present.

I know it is a scare tactic of which I am about to explain, but I was desperate.

Emma is not just will full ..... she is W I L L F U L L times a million. I found that things friends would tell me to do to help civilize, or control her,  would NOT work for Emma. Everyone else seemed to have a handle on it. It was blaringly obvious that Emma had the handle on me.

It all started a year or so ago at Bessie Branham, our neighborhood park.
She used to scream bloody murder when it was time to go. Many, many moms  knew me as the mom they felt sorry for with the out of control 3 year old. I mean she would kick and scream and really freak out. It would resume in me having to carry a flailing child out of the park almost daily.
It was so routine, I stopped feeling embarrased. Somehow, I think that's a bad sign. Just the beginning of a mother's life with no shame.

So, I started to point to the top of the hill at the park and say to her " the man in charge lives there and he sees everything we do at the park.  He is going to come down here and tell you to leave if you don't stop.... (insert behavior here)"
She always wanted gum at the park. (I'm the dumb shit that allowed her to have gum in the first place.) "The man in charge doesn't allow gum at the park." She would spit it out. (in my hand)
If you have a temper tantrum, the man in charge is going to tell us we can't come back to the park EVER.
When things got really bad, I told her the man in charge would take me away. I know, I know,  I took it a little too far. I only said that once, soon realizing it was borderline mean. Okay it was mean.

Now I know you are thinking, what a good idea! I think I'll use that-
Here iare a list of all the places where The Man in Charge lives:
 The Pool, Target, Lowes, Home Depot,  Publix, Kroger, random city sidewalks, airport gates, Ross(if you're making dumb decisions like myself), any waiting room at a doctor's office or otherwise, really, anywhere in public will suffice.