one comment can change the world

OK, maybe world here is a bit drastic, but one comment has led to several discussions that have changed how my husband and I see our world.
I said that bribery works.  The comment was that it works for some children.  Initially I thought that it works for all children if the right bribe can be discovered.  Now I know I am wrong.  It doesn't work for all children in the strictest definition of bribery.  My husband pointed out that some children just cannot overcome the idea of doing what is desired.  Either they just don't want to do it and nothing you can give them will change their mind, or they want to prove some point of independence and be different from someone else.  I've seen this with our second many times and he is right, she cannot usually be bribed in the way I bribe the others.  She can however be convinced by consequences.  Which I've come to see as not bribery.  Let me explain, in the case of potty training.  With our oldest we gave her chocolate chips when she used the potty.  She didn't get chocolate chips unless she used the potty, she got them every time she used the potty.  If she wanted chocolate chips she used the potty, we were all happy and she used the potty probably more than she had to.  With our second this method didn't work.  Partly because her sister would steal the chocolate chips from the cabinet and give them to her and partly because she didn't want to do what we wanted.  Direct consequences worked well though.  She wanted to wear pretty underwear.  If she dirtied her underwear she had to wear a diaper until her underwear was clean because she only had one pair of underwear.  She used the potty lots and lots because she wanted to keep her underwear clean.  Is this bribery?  No, I now do not think it is.  I used to think it was, but it isn't because bribery gives me, the briber, the control.  If she does x, I do y.  This does not work with our second child.  So yes bribery only works with some children.  However as my husband pointed out consequences can be ensured and do work well for almost every situation.  If the girls leave their headbands on the floor they get broken.  Sometimes Daddy ensures that this breakage occurs.  Hence, there are no headbands out of place because headbands that break are not replaceable.  He calls this consequences.  He says that sometimes good parenting involves controlling consequences.  I think he is right.  So see, my world changed a little bit and my husband and I had a wonderful discussion about parenting.  Comments are great!  Thank you for changing the world.