“I’ve resorted to insisting my kids respond with ‘yes, sir’ or ‘yes, ma’am’ to instructions,” a father of two recently shared with me. “I was tired of hearing ‘ookaaay,’ and then they wouldn’t actually do anything.”

“Has it worked?” I asked.

“Actually, it has. I know it sounds authoritarian, but it’s helped my kids be more aware that they’re making a commitment.”

You know, lots of things parents do seem strange from afar, like those leashes for kids. I mean, those are downright freaky … until you find yourself sprinting after your toddler as she careens down the sidewalk giggling with delight toward the busy street a block away. In pursuit, your mind leaps from terrifying visions of car meets baby to amazement at your kid’s speed considering she only learned how to walk the week before to wondering how much those freaky kid leashes cost.

I never did buy a freaky kid leash, but I wouldn’t be too quick to judge if I saw someone using one.

Not long after I chased my jubilant 1-year-old down the block, our air conditioner went on the blink. It was over 100 degrees out, and the repair guy couldn’t come for a week. So my husband and I loaded up the kid (and all of her luggage) to spend the afternoon at an indoor mall. We didn’t know it would be our last trip as a family to an indoor mall (or other public place) for two years.

Fast-motion version: Mom, dad, toddler enter department store, toddler disappears, parents run around like insane chickens, security guards lock all exits, toddler is found under pants rack, tears streaming down her cheeks from laughing at adults behaving like Keystone Cops, parents are relieved and angry and embarrassed and exhausted, family is not seen in public for a long time.

I was in the kitchen last night telling my husband about the “yes, sir” thing, and my preteen daughter overheard and asked apprehensively, “Are you going to do that?”

“Not if I see that you do what you say you’re going to do. I need to see results.”

“Yes, ma’am!” she replied.