This is dead on. I find, however, that you have to be careful about revealing your secret, at least in so many words. I had (more or less) the following interac

This is dead on. I find, however, that you have to be careful about revealing your secret, at least in so many words. I had (more or less) the following interaction with a parent we see occasionally: Them: "How'd you get $oneYearOld to do $that?" Me: [Explains] Them: "That's clever" Me (unguardedly): "Yeah, it's basically like dog-training - [more or less what you said]." Them: [Dirty look] A year on I don't think they've started another conversation with me. Lol. I have the "bad parent" rep, but everyone likes our kid, so I really, really don't care. [Edit: It's all positive reinforcement, mind. I'm not yelling or beating the kid, or anything like that. The objection is to a mental association between the child and an animal. My wife initially had the same.