On Kids and Motivation

I've recently found out that we can motivate our 3 1/2 year old by counting. He is a major dilly-dallier....so we use whatever it takes to get him going. You know, "I need you to do (X) by the time I count to three (or five, or ten)."

Now what's odd is that there is no consequence associated, most times, with hitting "three". Sometimes, yes, but most of the time I need to just say I'm counting.

So, two things I learned:

• I think every parent on the planet probably has tried this method at one time or another and it just miraculously comes out of your mouth one day without consciously realizing it's happening. Because your parents did it to you.
• Every kid is naturally wired to get a hit of giddiness/panic/anxiety the moment one of their parents starts counting. It's bizarre.

Did Pavlov do something on this, too? I have to look that up.