"what's In You Bag of Tricks To Control Kids..."

I'm a bit horrified when I get calls from people saying something like "last year we had someone that yelled at the kids".

I actually get these calls a lot more than I would expect. People will tell me similar stories at parties.

Who are these people that are getting mad at kids? Who are these people that would step out of character? Weird, it's totally foreign to me.

Yes, there are times I don't like what's going on. I am frustrated but who cares, it's not about my feelings.

If you the kids get out of control, which happens, hey they are kids so what. That's actually the first thing to say, so what. Then know what your character is going to do.

Do you run around with the kids? This will make them laugh but pretty tiring. You can try it, it might change the children's focus then they are all watching and you can bring them back.

You can whisper. One of my favorite tricks, I'm sure you can figure out a way to do this in character. Whispering almost always gets kids attention.

Simon says...In the middle of the mayhem simply say. Boswick says (Your clown name of course) , says touch your toes. Boswick says touch your knees etc. This will get them and is fun.

Sing a song. Put your finger on put your finger on put your finger on your nose....easy fun, well within your character. Hey even if you can't sing, just sing loudly, it's ok.

Announce, I'm going to stand like a statue. Do it, then break, say "I need help, who can stand like a statue?" Do this two or three times, you'll likely get all the kids acting like statues. Then have statues sit and go on.

Do something rude. Say loudly excuse me I burped. This will get the kid's attention. Say it again. Get them to come really close then make a burp noise. (you don't really have to burp just brap.). Tell them, when everyone is sitting, you'll do it one more time.

Sometimes kids get out of control. It's part of the job. Stay in character, do what is in your contract. It might be the most frustrating magic show of your life but get through it. You might have to use all sorts of tricks after each magic routine to get the kids sitting. But some people are really into having you do what you said you would do on the phone. A magic show, balloons, face painting. If you said it, you better do it.

Stay silly, feel free to ask me about specific instances. I'll come up with a few tricks to use, I promise.