Demon voice...it always comes down to this

We are in one of those difficult phases with Liam.  Two steps forwards, two steps back; my life can easily be defined by these Paula Abdul lyrics.  I find myself telling him 6 or 7 times to do something before he does it.  And it's not like I'm asking him to do things that are beyond him.  I'm asking him to put his shoes on or brush his teeth.  Simple things he does every day.  So usually by repeat 6 I've had enough and demon voice comes out.  And, of course, he listens when I use demon voice.  But really?  Do I need to use demon voice in order for my son to listen to me?

He is also going through a major independent phase.  He wants to do EVERYTHING on his own.  Get this - just a few days ago, during outside playtime, Liam leads his buddy, Charlie, into the house.  This is not that uncommon, although the kids know that they should be playing outside.  So I went to go get the boys, and Liam had locked me out of the house!  Thankfully, I left the garage door unlocked and was able to get in that way.  Upon entering I found Liam and his buddy hiding under the kitchen table, bike helmets still on, scarfing down Halloween candy.  Pretty hilarious, but so not okay!  I'd also like to add that the candy was placed on the kitchen island, so Liam had to get on a bar stool and climb to the middle of the island in order to retrieve the candy.

Here is an in-action shot of  a flooring kicking tantrum.  I know, I'm an evil parent for documenting this.  I think I actually took it to send to Joe so he knew what kind of a day Liam and I were having.

Going back to the discipline drawing board  - so to speak.  Demon voice is unattractive.