This is not about my mother, but is a story I heard while on a shuttle bus late last week. As someone who was raised by a college professor and a retired first grade teacher (if "retired" means "stopped teaching when I came along") I found this absolutely the perfect example of reverse psychology and could not stop giggling.
The radio program asked listeners to call in with their favorite "punishments from mom", obviously "favorite" with several years distance. A gentleman called in with the following story...
As a junior in high school, he really was not academically inclined and didn't care about grades or learning or all that nonsense. Cue the result: a poor report card. Mom saw this and rather than getting upset and giving the whole "you're smart, you can do this, think about your future" lecture she apparently said something to the effect of "I quit", telling him he was wasting his time going to school and his teacher's time in class so she was pulling him out of class. He was expected to go to the grocery store nearby and get a full-time job, start earning a living as an adult because education wasn't in the cards.
Mom then went out of town to a conference. Did he go to the grocery store and get that job? Nope. He—spoiler alert!!—snuck back into school, crying in the guidance counselor's office that his mother wouldn't let him come to school any more, etc.. When reached, Mom confirmed this while laughing that her nefarious plan had worked.
Perhaps I never needed that clever a punishment. However, I could see my very clever mother trying something similar... ok, yeah, she did. But that's a story for another year. zikhronah livrakha