"Come Here, little Buford"

The Most Important Parenting Method That No One Ever Talks About:

I think it's very important to teach kids as soon as they can walk to come immediately whenever they're called or else. This is for safety's sake, obviously, but there's an added benefit. Before I had kids, I noticed parents would yell instructions at their misbehaving kids from across the house, and the kids would usually ignore them. You should summon them because:

--it's a mild punishment when they have to stop what they're doing and come to you (incentive not to misbehave)

--kids listen better when you look them in the eyes (no excuses like "I didn't hear you say that")

BTW, don't say, "Gertrude, come here now!" Putting "now" at the end of a command is redundant; it's also a sign of weakness and exasperation. Your child should come when you calmly say, "Come here", or you should administer discipline until he learns to do so.