Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am Game

I'm sure this is just a Stumpf phenomenon, but my children seemed to be hard of hearing when I would ask them to do something. We decided to reduce frustration and improve attentiveness by requiring a "Yes Ma'am/No Ma'am" or "Yes Sir/No Sir" when we asked something. That would make it easier to determine if they heard the request or not.

Periodically we brush up on this skill by playing the Yes Ma'am, No Ma'am Game. Rules are simple:

• I ask them a question or to do something.
• They respond cheerfully with "Yes Ma'am" or "No Ma'am" and run like a bunny rabbit to do what's been asked of them.
• When they return after successful completion, they get an M&M (love those training incentives)

After a couple weeks, the responses become automatic. We repeat this training period a couple times each year to keep everyone sharp. Now that I think about it, we might benefit from a refresher this week...