A good friend of mine, another Marine spouse, recently called me and told me about an incident involving her 2 sons. They'd been in the car for several hours and were about 30 minutes from home when the kids' bickering reached a fever pitch and my friend reached her limit. She pulled over on the side of the road, under a tree.
Then she kicked the boys out of the car. She sat in the air-conditioned vehicle and told them to stay out in the heat and humidity until they'd solved their problem. Each time they tried to reenter the vehicle, she'd ask, "Are you done?" and wouldn't let them back into the car until they'd resolved their disagreement and were completely done with the bickering.
I heard from her again just last night. Earlier in the day, her oldest son was mouthing off to her while they were in the car. This time they were on the Marine base where they live. She pulled over to the side of the road and told him to get out of the car. Then she told him to do 10 push-ups. After 2, he thought he'd done enough. She informed him he had 8 more to go. Around this time, my friend noticed a Marine running by doing his lunch-time PT. He looked like he was trying to not laugh.
And lest you think my friend is alone in her discipline technique, I know another Marine spouse who often made her 4 kids do push-ups as punishment. I'd try this myself, except my girls would probably just think it was fun. They get that from their dad.
