3 Golden Rules for Great Behavior

Sometimes desperation is the mother of invention. At least it was for me when I finally figured out how to get my son to stop his terrifying habit of bolting from the safety of my clutches in the parking lot. Our struggles had been epic: I'd reach for his hand, his shoulder -- or even his jacket hood. And he'd wriggle free and run ahead like a fugitive; the chase would end with a semi-hysterical mom (that would be me) half carrying a crying, squirmy boy. Harrowing, to say the least.

Then I had a moment of clarity about how to make hand-holding more agreeable: Channeling The Black Eyed Peas, I'd sing, "I gotta feeling... that today you're gonna hold my hand...," while grabbing his little fingers and swinging them to the beat. Corny even by my low standards, but hey, it worked. Cranking up the silliness factor to avoid a battle of wills is one trick. But with so much advice out there, your toddler could be a tween before you've sorted through it all. There is, however, something of a secret: Although there's no playbook, most experts stand behind these three rock-solid discipline rules.

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