Santa threats and kids: Now who’s being naughty not nice?

Here’s a holiday classic likely going on in your house right now: Johnny is misbehaving, Mommy is having none of it, Mommy tells Johnny that she’s going to tell Santa on him right now.

Jen Weigel of the Chicago Tribune writes in this story how it recently played out for her:

“Getting my son to be motivated for school in the morning is always a challenge. (He’s only 4, so I cringe at my future.) But the other morning, he gave me so much trouble that I did what any mother would do when pressed for time and patience: I played the Santa card.

“I’m calling Santa right now on his cell phone,” I snapped, grabbing my BlackBerry. “He’s VERY busy these days, and I have a feeling he’s NOT gonna be happy about this!”

“Nooooooooo!” my son yelled, reaching for my arm. “I want to be a good boy!”

“Then put on your boots and let’s go to school,” I said.

“No,” he said in protest.

“OK, fine,” I said, picking up the phone and dialing nobody. As I watched my son try to fumble with his boots and stop me from calling the big guy, I wondered how much damage I was doing to his emotional well being.”

Find out what an expert says by reading the full story here. And readers and parents weigh in in this Chicago Tribune follow-up story.

So whether you choose to play the Santa card, this we know for sure: You have less than a day to make it work.