Maybe not normal for some kids - definitely normal for others.
I can't remember the name of the book, but we ran across one that uses counting. Basically, you count when they disobey and they get a time out at 3. One minute for each year of age, or something like that. One of the things about it is that when you start the count, the kids figure out that it isn't a game anymore. My kids had trouble telling when dad was joking or not. Counting eliminated that.
Also - you are on a gifted board and I assume you think there is reason to think your child is gifted. If so, the early years can be really challenging. Consistency about the rules is critical - but so is finding a new angle to help them to understand those rules. The same old thing never worked for us more than a week when they were young. We called it the trick of the week.
Among other things, with our kids, we learned that we had to view them as a whole rather than just look at the incident that was causing a problem. The root of the problem might well have been a vocabulary word that they didn't understand, or a question that had gone unanswered, or the need for physical or mental exercise.
Anyway - don't know if that helps at all.... But yes, mind games are normal for some kids....
Mary
