As a parent, I believe that creative parenting skills are more fun than traditional methods of discipline. The following is a true story. My wife and mother in law can attest. Frankly, I am proud of the results achieved from my quick thinking. You can be appalled if you would like and I am sure the gestapo child protective services would not approve however I publish this for struggling parents everywhere. My daughters are great kids but last year they were struggling with getting along with one another. Team sports are not my daughter’s interest so building team skills and cooperation is a challenge. Last year my oldest was 11 and my youngest was 9. Who knows why they were not getting along. It could have been spending too much time together, it could be typical sister stuff I don’t know but it was becoming chronic. At dinner, they began to needle and pick at each other. Clearly giving each other a hard time and fussing about who would do what and what the other should do that the other did not want to do etc. For a complete month my wife and I had employed techniques to teach them the value of working together and helping each other for the greater good. All techniques had failed. Talking and negotiating failed. Punishing with chores or restriction failed. This in-fighting had reached an apex at dinner and  I had had enough. While they were fussing and my wife and mother in law were eating, I stopped eating, got up without speaking and left the table. This manuever obtained the attention of everyone because dinner time is important in the house. I walked out of the house and returned with a 50 foot rope (very soft rope). Standing in front of the table with my mother in law’s mouth agape and my wife shaking her head in disbelief, I tied two large loops in the separate ends of the rope. No one was eating at this point. Obviously my daughters are aware that I am unreasonable in most of my life’s actions and view points. Anyone who knows me realizes that I could care less about what you think of me and this includes my wife and daughters. I am about results.  I ask my daughters to get up and stand in front of me. A quiet protest occurred from the table but one look clearly indicating my seriousness and statement of resolve squelched the protest. Tying one end of the rope around the waist of my eldest and the other end around the waist of my youngest, I declare that they are a team now. I inform them that they will have to wear the rope in our house until they are working as a team. Looking at each other clearly appalled by the act, they begin to measure the gravity of the change in circumstances. They say, “how can we use the bathroom? How can we do chores” and finally with “this is crazy.” Concurring, I say, “I agree it is crazy that God gave you guys to each other to share a great life together and you guys can’t work together and treat each other with respect and civility. Therefore, craziness needs to be dealt with the same level of craziness to reverse the tide.” I demonstrate for them that the rope has significant length to allow one sister to use the restroom while the other waits patiently. They will need to cooperate. Another round of questions by my daugthers was met with, “you guys work it out.” My mother in law was so appalled that she left dinner and retired to her apartment upset. My wife looking completely afraid that social services will arrive at the house any minute started cleaning the dishes. I sat down and started eating while both of my daughters stared at me. Instantly they began to discuss the immediate problem that one of them wanted to go upstairs and the other one wanted to stay downstairs. Thus, my great unreasonable experiment began. They began to give and take, negotiate preferences and obtain agreement that allowed them to function for the night. They slept with the rope tied around their waists connected to one another across the hall by this beautiful red rope.  I left for work and the next day they attempted to employ their mother’s advocacy against my “crazy punishment.” She politely said you will have to speak to your father about that. They wore that rope all day working on chores, playing in the house, getting snacks, going to the bathroom while their “twin” sat outside the bathroom in the hallway reading a book. When I arrived home they told me that they learned their lesson. I asked my wife and she said that a rocky morning gave way to a smooth afternoon culminating in a smooth transition to my daughters functioning like conjoined twins. Mission accomplished. As adults, I am sure that this incident will be the subject of many of their therapy sessions. You as reader might feel that this is abuse but this is not true. They were not hurt but their pride and selfishness was checked. My goal was for the girls to understand that working with each other and loving each other is a choice they have to make.  I can say that they have worked very well together since maybe that is out of fear for the rope but I think that they realized that they are tied to each other even when the rope is not there. Make sure the rope is 50 feet long shorter lengths make it difficult to navigate bathroom necessities. AH