1.......2................3...(4 mom?)

Discipline for 2 soon to be 3 boys is very hard. Their personalities are sooooo different yet they seem to act up in the same ways.

One thing I picked up from my parents growing up was "the count." This is effective when delivered as follows:

step 1: child acts up (ie; touches something he's not supposed to)
step 2: request that the child stop
step 3: if the child does not stop, bust out the belt.... j/k request again and warn of consequences if child does not cease and desist
step 4: child does not react to steps 1-3
step 5: child has used 2 of 3 possible strikes and will get the count as the final warning before retribution
step 6: in an even monotone pace (approx 60 bpm) count from 1 - 3
step 7: if child has not displayed desired reaction use discipline of choice now (scolding, timeout, spanking, leather bull whip, electric chair, etc, etc)

UNLESS....

your child is like my #2 son Roman Ezra (pictured)  currently 2 yrs old, in which case he looks up right around the count of 2 and smiles and gets ready to book it like a track star running the 1/4 mile on 3. My wife and I try very hard to be fair and count steadily every time; it's hard. Sometimes you say 1... 2... and then are tempted to give fractions of a second such as 2 1/2, 2 3/4, 2 7/8, 2 9/10 as additional opportunities for the child to do the right thing. However, you're only postponing the inevitable. I digress, my wife gets to 3 and as she reaches to grab him to administer punishment, he looks up at her and says in the most concerned voice "no mommy... 4 mommy... 4!" If this is your case, I'm still working on that one.