Little J screamed and spit at his brother at dinner, so my husband told him to go to the naughty step.

"You're stupid!" Little J yelled.

For that he got a spanking. Nobody disrespects my man. After that little interlude he was put right back on the naughty step.

"But I hate it here! I hate it!" he protested.

"That's the point," I said. "It's called punishment."

We learned about the naughty step from Supernanny, a television show whose first episode prompted my husband to turn to me and tell me I'm a good mother.

Awww. How romantic.

Anyway, the naughty step as a concept wasn't new to us (the concept being time-out) but its location is what makes it pure genius. Before Supernanny, time out had been on a chair in the kitchen - where Little J could see and hear and scream at us at the top of his lungs. The stairs, where the naughty step is located, is around the corner. We can hear him all right, but we can't see him and he can't see us. To get up he must be quiet. Well, mostly quiet. Little J probably couldn't truly be quiet if his life depended on it, so we just expect the screaming and insults to stop for a couple of minutes, then he can get up.

If you haven't seen the genius that is Supernanny and you have children who you consider even the slightest bit out of control I highly suggest you watch a couple of episodes. What Jo Frost (the nanny of Supernanny) does is not rocket science, nor is it especially new to most people who read parenting books or magazine or even have your basic common sense. But by watching the mistakes the parents make and by seeing her advice in action it's easy to see where you are going wrong...or where you're not.

Watching that show actually gave me another gift besides the beloved naughty step. By seeing what she suggests parents do is so similar to what I do it allowed me to quit blaming myself for some of Little J's bad behaviors and to seek outside help. "We do all that stuff," my husband said, after the first episode had finished. I agreed. So obviously something else was going on...it was a big relief to realize that.