My son has had a quick temper since he was a toddler, and has always wanted to have the last word. At age 4, we put him and his older sister in Tae Kwon Do, which taught me something about parenting. Instead of time-outs, I started demanding push-ups when he'd get mouthy with me, just like the masters did. I didn't care where we were, it was "Give me 10 push-ups right now!" If he continued to backtalk or didn't move fast enough, he'd have to do 20. I got lots of smiles from parents in public places!

It was interesting to watch how the physical exertion diffused my son's anger. By the last few push-ups, he would nearly always be laughing at his own exhaustion, and the crisis would be over.

I suppose it's a sign that he was a slow learner, but he's 12 now and has the shoulders and upper arms of a body builder. He says it's a good thing he was such a brat, because now he's totally buff, can do 10 chin-ups without breaking a sweat, and the girls think he's awesome.

He still has an occasional fit of temper, but has asked me to assign abdominal curls now, instead of push-ups, as he still has a layer of baby fat around his tummy and would like to develop a "six- pack." That's my boy!

Myra