The present study focuses on children's role play directives as displays of gender stereotypes and power hierarchies in family life. Studies on politeness have primarily focused on directives at the mitigation end of a politeness continuum. The present study has particularly addressed the aggravation end of the continuum and, as predicted, family role play was rich in aggravations. A specific type of escalation, called threat-tell sequences, showed how the children successively moved from a metapragmatic level to a pragmatic level, and at times ultimately to a level of embodied action. Focusing in depth on children's embodied role play directives in face-to-face interaction, this study shows how politeness models need to be expanded in order to account for aggravated moves and paradoxical communication.