We’ve all had kids who go through a phase that no matter what type of discipline you use nothing works.
You try the naughty step, you try time outs.
You try star charts and positive reinforcement.
You try taking away treasured toys but your stubborn little terror won’t succumb to anything.
You are at your wits end. You’d try anything.
Well have you thought about hypnotism?
Have you thought about hypnotism? Image via IStock.
A mother of three from the US claims she has been hypnotising her children since they were babies and is now offering her services to teach other parents how to take over their child’s minds, well at least get them to do as they are told.
You are getting tired, your eyelid are getting heavy. You will open your eyes, tidy up your Lego, eat all your fish fingers and beans without spilling a drop on the floor and will smile sweetly and glance the other way when we pass the Kinder Surprises at the supermarket.
Can you imagine it? This mother says it’s a sure fire way to make parenting easier and to make your kids do what they are told.
Lisa Machenberg, 56, began hypnotising her own children to help them get through the night without wetting the bed. She uses her methods to help them do their chores, complete their homework and with personal issues like performance anxiety and difficulties focusing.
Lisa Machenberg now runs a business helping others. Image via Facebook.
Her methods might seem controversial but despite its reputation as a method of public humiliation on commercial TV hypnotism has been long recognised as having valid therapeutic uses for some people in treating forms of addiction, like smoking and in overcoming phobias.
However this is the first time its been publically used as a parenting tool.
(We've all tried it privately haven't we? You will sleep you will sleep you will sleep you will sleep. )
Lisa Machenberg, whose children are now teenagers, told Barcroft Media she first used hypnosis for herself to help her conceive her twins.
“I had a very, very hard time having children. I used hypnosis in conjunction with western medicine and conceived twin boys."
“Then I used hypnosis so I could be very, very comfortable when I went into labor and then I used hypnosis to help the children sleep quickly, calmly, soundly and deeply all through the night.”
Lisa and her children when they were younger. Image via Facebook.
She told Barcroft Media that she now uses the technique all the time.
“I taught my children hypnosis so that they could have focus, concentration and be very calm taking their SAT’s to get in to college.
“I hypnotise my husband and my children to do things for my benefit all the time.
“When mums are happy, everybody is happy. When the wife is happy, everyone is happy.
“We have a household to run and so many times I exert influence so that my children get their chores done so that the house runs efficiently.”
You will put on your shoes, you will pack your school bag you will walk to the door without stopping. Image via IStock.
Lisa now runs her own business hypnotising other people’s children for a variety of reasons including bad habits, anxiety or misbehaviour and teaching parents how to hypnotise their own kids at home.
She says her services help parents learn techniques to exert influence to achieve a cooperative, peaceful home.
“We can use hypnosis to hypnotise our children to be the best that they can be, to be peaceful, cooperative.”
She refutes the suggestion it is manipulative saying instead it is helping create peace and harmony.
Her daughter, Rayna, aged 17, told ABC News said she has “always known” that her mother used hypnosis on her and for her it has had an amazing impact.
“Being able to push back on stress and think about it deeply and do self-reflecting was a skill that I'm really grateful that my mum taught me,” she said. “I think it still influences me a lot today and helped me develop into the person I am right now."
Lisa now runs her own business hypnotising other people’s children Image via Barcroft Media.
But her son revealed when he was younger he didn’t always want to be hypnotised.
“It could get a little crazy when she tries to kind of hypnotise us at every single possible situation that she can. It could get a little overbearing – she gets in your head” he revealed.
Literally.
Rayna told Barcroft Media that she has tried following in her mother’s footsteps and using hypnosis on others, even her teacher.
“He gave me a very bad grade that would have brought my grade down to a B from an A, so I went to talk to him and when I did, I made sure my hand was close to his arm and I said ‘you will raise my grade’.”
But before you sign the whole family up for a little bit of mind enhancement (just imagine what you could get your hubby to actually do) keep in mind that not all folk can be hypnotised.
Sadly not everyone can be hypnotised. Image via IStock.
The Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scales established by the reputable university found that 95 percent of people can be hypnotised to some extent – but there are those who just don’t fall under the spell.
For those kids - or partners - you can always try bribery. I've been told it works quite well.