My husband and I had the same problem with our daughter(5yrs) and our son(4yrs). We had tried everything everyody had told us to do - nothing worked. Then my husband had an idea that no one had suggested and we had not tried - make them do push-ups, since it works for the military. The only differences we made is we don't put them down, we correct their form if needed, we encourage them to finish, and we tell them that we love them when they're done. They did resist and argue at first, but it takes a steadfast patience and calm authority to stand there and stare at them quietly waiting for them to drop and do their push-ups - it's a battle of who has the stronger will, even if you have to stand there for an hour or two (I had to with my daughter!!) Tell them that the sooner they do their push-ups and appologize, the sooner they can get back to normal life activities. You don't need to start them at a high push-up number, I started mine at five until their strength built up. They will cry and complain, but you know that it's hurting them, it's just hard work. It's a great upper body exercise that strengthens the circulatory system; it is not physically, verbally, or mentally abusive; it can be hard work, it can make a person tired, but will not hurt them as long as they are doing it right. My 5 yr old daughter can now do 50 push-up straight through without a break, my son can get through 40, and my 2 yr old girl can do 7 before she can't do anymore. We just had to show them how to do them right (boys push-ups are on their toes & girls push-ups are on their knees. Legs, back, and neck in a straight line, hands are slightly wider then the shoulders, only bending the elbows to go down to nearly touch tip of nose to floor, then back up to starting position.), then tell them this is what they will do when they break the rules and then enforce it strictly. I've got my kids acting almost like saints because they don't want to do push-ups, but they know they'll have to if they've done wrong. How many they do is up to you, just be fair concerning what you know their strength is and what they did wrong. I hope this helps you, I know it helped me.