Man, I high five myself AGAIN! I LOVE catching my kids getting into trouble without really ever seeing it happen! I recently got the, "Wow mommy... you really ARE Super Mommy with powers!! Will I have those when I am a mommy?"
Get ready to judge me... I am sure some will and that's okay, but here's how I do it.
Super Mommy Tip #1: Conspire with Friends!
Who says you need to go it alone? We have friends with a son the same age as my oldest and there's always trouble when we get together. Not destructive trouble.. just the verbal squabbles kids go through when they hang together for more than an hour at a time.
So when the tension is high and the friends head home, the kids start to tattle on each other. We share tattles, figure out what's real and what's not (we've gotten good at that... no trick to it other than experience) and then we confront our own without acknowledging the conversation we had with the parent.
They are always stunned and ask, "How'd you know that?" My reply is, "I am Super Mommy so be careful what you do when I am not around... I know everything!"
I am sure this will backfire shortly, once they put pieces of the puzzle together but luckily with their short attention spans at this age, that hasn't happened yet. When it does, I'll use tips 2 and 3 to continue with my Super Powers.
Super Mommy Tip #2: Lie
My kids truly believe there are secret video cameras all over the house so when they fight and I can not tell who's fibbing about what, I pull out the, "I'll just watch the tape and when I see who really started it, I'll be extra mad because you didn't tell me yourself!" and one always buckles.
Recently, over a fight over nothing, before I even made the comment, my middle one said, "She's lieing and I can proove it! Watch the tape mommy... watch the tape and you'll see."
Ahhh.... sweet victory! BTW- there are no video cameras.
Super Mommy Tip #3: Eavesdrop
Just to maintain credibility with my Super Mommy powers, I silently tip toe to the room they're in and listen for a bit. They don't need to be getting in trouble; I just wait for something interesting to be said and after a few hours (don't wait too long.... kids have short attention spans) I make a statement related to what they said when they assumed they were alone and voila! Again, my super powers amaze them.
Super Mommy Tip #4: Never let them read your blog unless you're ready to give up your Super Powers.