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Tonight, I decided I’d have a go at Max Maven’s Mockingbird, which relies upon the Gilbreath principle. I didn’t even get a foot in the door! Having riffle shuffled the cards, I gave her the quarter packs to further mix. That’s when she made a comment about the cards which stopped the trick dead in its tracks.

It sounds like you did the riffle shuffle! I though the point of mocking bird is that the SPECTATOR is doing the riffle shuffle.

Anyway, you clearly have a clever daughter who is fast at "problem solving". Maybe, she noticed that you handled the cards a bit tense, (being clever she got the impression that the cards somehow were prearranged) then when if your kind of count the cards before you give her a pile to shuffle there is not much magic left.

My daughter is a bit the same and is in fact an excellent critic.

Believe me if mocking bird is done flawless the brightest genius in the world have no chance working out this effect.

I have performed this effect as part of my mentalist repertoire, though I now find the effect is a bit too slow to my taste.

Anyway, we all need to test our magic against the most astute spectators, so consider yourself privileged.

My first audience is always my 9 year old. Kids just have a knack of spotting "eveything".

Each time I try something new thats spotted I am reminded of David Williams with Murry.

I laugh... I move on... I try to impress my son again.
Why is it that im more interested in the view point of my 9 year old than any audience? I guess the answer is that like any dad im always seeking the approval of my kids (I wanna be "cool dad"!)

I've always found that performing for young children has a lot of parallels with performing for the very drunk. A lot of the magic I do is based around developing a rapport with the spectator, and then misdirecting there pants off. (Not literally, that'd be a hell of a trick).

The young/drunk don't listen to what you're saying, they just watch your hands intently, examining things constantly. This makes any move that is anything other than totally invisible under close scrutiny impossible to do. I tend to resort to simple vanishes and productions quick enough that they follow you, but don't have time to insist you turn your hand round...

Don't get me wrong, I love performing for kids, it's very challenging and hence rewarding. I just think that you have to completely change the way you do magic, as they never respond the same way.

I think the problem is that, as previously stated, they don't have a fixed view of the world, so subtleties are less effective.

Another thing might be that also that since they don't get subtleties, they are harder to misdirect, and just stare at your hands.

One final thing, what they use is, as Darwin Ortiz puts it, common sense.

I am indeed fortunate to have a sounding board, of sorts and believe it or not, I am often forced to think of ways around any "objections". For example, trying out the ID, she called for the King of Diamonds. Hold on a second, where the hell is that? Therefore, I have SUBSEQUENTLY formulated a method for this and similar choices in the future.

My concern is in getting the more sophisticated effects through the "screening" process (like Mockingbird) - I'm not interested in performing that Coloured Cube in a box trick (not sure of name) as part of an adult repetoire. I tend to have a fixed idea as to how an effect might kill and when it's blown, I get a bit peeved. I'd like to perform Reflections on her but if it didn't have the required effect, I think I'd need a week-end binge!

I think, in part, it's that your kids KNOW that you don't read minds or that you never graduated from Hogwarts

All of my advice has been told to you already, but I have to say, great choice of title choosing! It really does make it a whole lot more interesting than, "Need Help asap!"

I would like to say that sometimes, I actually enjoy performing for kids (when they're not annoying), because it is much easier to introduce in their young minds the idea that you're not an "entertainer" but a wizard/magician. The approach is different and if presented correctly, it can have much more impact.

But they are much more attentive so the best effects that you could perform are the visual ones, those are the ones that really make you stand out in their eyes, not a more complicated routine which a grown-up would appreciate more. Also, the tricks which involve them as much as possible are also really good: tell them to blow on the cards, tap them, hold them in their hands, so that the magic happens closer to them.