Dragons for Discipline

I just read a wonderful book with my children titled, "You've Got Dragons" by Kathryn Cave.
Kathryn states "Dragons show up when you least expect them" and, "When you've got dragons, you need lots of hugs".
Dragons come in many forms in our house. Some dragons are disobedience, anger, teasing and inappropriate responses. The list could go on.
In the book, Kathyrn gives suggestions of how to deal with your dragons. Make them laugh. Tell someone else about your dragon. Plenty of hugs.
Yesterday my children began to whine and cry when it was time for school. This is a common occurence and one which really gets my blood boiling. It is a dragon of theirs. So I told them, "Uh oh, I see a dragon. Let me give you a hug." We gave that dragon our full attention, talked about it and discussed ways of getting rid of that particular dragon.
I'm happy to say, I think it helped. To be able to visualize an inappropriate response for the dragon it is, really seemed to give them a different perspective. Now my little warriors will be able to recognize their dragons and equip themselves for battle.