Things I've learned about parenting: three warnings and time

We had another Parenting Discussion Night a couple of weeks ago for a Relief Society activity. The teacher/leader told us about the steps towards time out. She said if a child is doing something wrong, you give them a warning (with a calm and neutral voice), wait ten seconds, then a second warning (still with a calm and neutral voice), wait ten seconds, then a third warning (still with a calm and neutral voice), then wait ten seconds. If they don't choose to be obedient after that, then you put them in time out. She pointed out that children's brains don't work as fast as adult brains do, so it's important to give them the ten seconds to process the warning so they can get the time to think about what the warning means and what their decision will be. Kevin isn't really old enough for time out to be effective, but I thought the three warnings and waiting ten seconds part was something to keep in mind with Kevin, so I've been trying to use that when I can. Sometimes I have to stop him right away, but usually there's enough time that I can wait and give him a chance to decide. I always make sure to be counting in the "One one thousand, two one thousand, three one thousand . . . " style to be sure that I'm actually giving him his ten seconds. He doesn't always choose to do what I tell him to or even to acknowledge that I said anything, but I've actually been surprised at how often he actually does end up doing what I ask if I give him the three chances with time for his brain to process what I'm saying. I try to always praise him for doing what I asked him to do or for stopping a bad behavior when I told him to. It helped me to realize that I was being a little too hasty and that I wasn't even giving him a chance to fully comprehend what I was saying to him. Doing this has also helped me to be a little more patient because I'm willing to give him time before jumping in, and it's helped me to remember not to yell.