Kids are always complaining that there are too many rules to follow. No running in the house. No fighting with your brother. No putting your fingers up your nose.

As I picked up the Things at daycare one day, I realized there are an awful lot of rules that I have to follow, too.

Rule #1: Bring snacks for the ride home. Sure, it may not be the best idea before dinner, but it isn’t worth the price of crying and whining I’ll pay if I don’t have them.

Rule #2: Snacks must be the same, and that means the same size. God forbid Thing 1 or Thing 2 thinks they have the smaller snack. If snacks are a sandwich bag of animal crackers, for example, the bags need to have the same number of crackers in them.

They call it the “Arsenic Hour.” Who “They” are and why they call it Arsenic, I don’t know. According to the dictionary, Arsenic is a grayish-white element having a metallic lustre, vaporizing when heated, and forming poisonous compounds. We’re just talking about the time just before dinner where the kids are hungry. Mum and Dad are stressed and busy, and the kids either want to be right under the busiest feet or crying.

In our house, with a 2 ½ year old and a 1 year old, we’ve discovered a trick that can ease this pressure and I want to share it with you. It’s not television, nor sugary snacks, not locking them up the other end of the house, yelling or threatening time out. It’s not pleading with them to stop crying, sending them outside and locking the door or bathing them early even though all of these weapons have been considered, and used with varying degrees of effect by many of us in the past.