So my kids are like all (most) siblings - they fight with each other. And unless they are ½ killing each other I tend to tell them to fight their own battles when they come running to me to tell on each other. Unless like the other day they just could not play with each other. For about 3 hours they took turns running to me every 5 min nagging mommy Cat hit me, mommy Tiger kicked me - I thought I was going to go insane. That was until I remembered something my aunt did with my cousins when they were little.
I decided to do the same.
I called them into the lounge, gave them each a wooden spoon and told them that since they obviously wanted to ignore the house rules and hit & kick each other I was now giving them the opportunity to do exactly that. They could use their wooden spoons and hit each other.
Not a single blow - go figure. I took back the spoons and told them that I didn't want to hear another word, they had had their opportunity and wasted it (thank goodness for that, I don't know what I would have done if they actually had taken me up on my offer).
They are also very competitive and hate being outdone by each other. Tiger will get so cross with his sister if she beats him at something (she's 2 years older than him - it's only natural) that he tends to just give up. However, if he carries on he, more often than not, will beat her and then he LOVES to rub her face in it.
Despite this competitive streak they are very close and would do just about anything for each other.
Case and point last night.
At about 10:30 last night Cat started nagging that she was hungry and wanted something to eat. Now, I'm not someone who starves her kids but by 10:30 at night I'm not about to let them start eating snacks. I also knew that she had more than enough to eat at dinner time. So I told her to have a big glass of water.
Needless to say she felt that I was being a horrible mother. What I didn't know is that she went and complained to her little brother. Next thing he storms into the kitchen and shouts at me, 'You know if Cat is hungry you need to feed her, you know! That's your job!'. and then he storms out again.
That's right, he'll fight for his sisters right to eat snacks after 10:30 at night!
PS. The only reason my kids are going to bed so late is because they are on holiday and get to sleep in. When school is on they go to bed early, every day.
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