My kids are not big on chores, but if I ask one of them to unload the dishwasher, they’ll drop whatever they’re doing, run downstairs, and unload the dishwasher in a flash. Why such immediate action? Believe me, it’s not from a desire to help their parents or any other noble cause. No, it’s because they think loading the dishwasher is the worst torture ever. Since we sometimes ask one child to unload the dishwasher and the other to fill it back up, each of them lives in fear of being the unlucky sibling who has to <gasp> handle dirty dishes. Their terror works to my advantage. In fact, I hardly ever ask them to load the machine, since I don’t mind doing that myself. But they’re not taking any chances, and that’s why they tackle the chore of unloading quickly and without complaint.
Fear truly is the key to controlling people.