Creativity expert, professor, father and former day care provider Rustin Wolfe writes a weekly MinnMoms parenting advice column that uses creative punishments to put a positive spin on negative behavior.

Here's one of his creative solutions:

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN EVIL QUEENS

Question: My daughter had some friends over, and when we were acting out Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, they all wanted to be the evil queen. How can I fairly choose who gets the role?

Behavior: All want to be same character.

Problem: Only one role.

Solution: Tweak the story.

Activity: There's no need to force them to be dwarves. Adapt the story to your audience: Snow White and the Seven Evil Queens. There's the Sleepy Evil Queen, the Sneezy Evil Queen, etc. If you have more than seven coveting the spot, you can include the Itchy Evil Queen, the Weepy Evil Queen, and so on. As a bonus, this will keep things interesting for you as well.

-- Want Rustin's solution for your child's challenging behavior? Send questions to naughtycolumn@gmail.com.

-- Read the Naughty Column archive at minnmoms.com/naughtycolumn.

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