Kids Say The Darndest Things

Katelyn has learned how to throw a stellar tantrum these days.  She pulls out all the stops, and gets to me in ways that I just can't ignore.  I try to ignore tantrums whenever possible, but Katelyn has learned that an ear piercing scream will get my attention pretty much every time.  So that's usually her chosen method.  To combat this, I've opted for putting a few drops of lemon juice in her mouth.  I'm a firm believer in "the punishment needs to fit the crime" style of parenting, and I feel that something unpleasant in the mouth that was just used to scream is appropriate enough.

While we were on our 14-hour trek back to North Carolina from Connecticut a few weeks ago Katelyn decided that screaming would be a fun way to pass the time.  Ron told her to stop or he would get the lemon juice. It was actually an empty threat since we don't actually travel with lemon juice.  Although maybe we should... (diapers? check. wipes? check. sippy cups & snacks? check. lemon juice for squirting in Katelyn's mouth? check....)  Empty threat or not, she stopped.

A few minutes go by and Joey half-whispers to his sister, "Katelyn, scream."
"No screaming Katelyn," Ron reinforces.
A minute or so later, Joey tries again, "Katelyn, scream."
"Joey, if she screams I'll put lemon juice in your mouth."
A few minutes pass while Joey thinks this over.  Finally he flatly responds, "No you won't.  I'm allergic."
Which he is.