….And I assume you are employing Mr. Flibbertyjig at opportune times to get the kids into bed….

My Mum always says…true parenting is really all bribery and corruption!

My little brother used to refuse to get dressed in the morning or after he had a bath. So we told him that the passing birds would fly in the window and eat bits of him if he didn’t put clothes on. Totally worked. Just needed to go towards the window to open it, and say ‘ooooh!!! the birdies!!!’ and you’ve never seen a kid get dressed so fast in all your life.

We also convinced my sister that santa’s elves interview pets to see how well behaved their owners are. A surely brilliant way to make sure she does all the cage cleaning, feeding and so on…!

Yes, we were a real mean family!!! (and we’re perfectly crazy as a result).

I tend to tell my slow-poke that she can spend the night wherever it is she’s dawdling — “Have a nice night at the park!” I call out as I walk away. It used to make her older sister really nervous. Wait till she hears about the dragons …