threats backfire

Ben and I felt that with Christmas looming it was time to work in a few good threats. Santa doesn't bring presents to naughty children, blah, blah, blah. I told Alex about the naughty boy who continued to be naughty even after his parents had warned him, so the boy ended up getting a lump of coal. We then had to explain what coal was and Alex thought it sounded like a cool present. The problem with threatening a child with a dud Christmas present is that you have to be sure they wouldn't like it. Alex would probably take his lump of coal and draw all over the walls and floor and then take it to bed with him to keep it safe (getting it all over the sheets and his pyjama's). Then I would be cleaning coal dust out of the shower. If he found out it becomes diamonds he would probably be found jumping on his lump of coal. Eventually he would loose it down the side of the lounge and his stupid cat would eat it. I don't want to even think about what happens to coal when subjected to the digestion processes of a cat.