The specter of boredom is settling in on my children. The boy not so much, because he is so dopey with fever. The girls have read books, drawn pictures, watched movies and have been sent into the mugginess that is outside for some "wearing out" time. During that time today, the girls hit their limit of each other and started arguing. Then fighting. Then I told them to just wrestle it out. It was quite a scene to the neighbors to see two Tweens scrapping in the front yard. After a while, I took them inside and made them do the "hug each other" until told them to stop. While they locked in a forced sisterly embrace, I googled subjects like "how to get my girls to stop fighting" and "how to avoid alcoholism when children are in the tween years". I found an article with suggestions and tried one called "List 25 Things You Like About Your Sister". Whether they were going to make all their answers serious, I didn't know. What I did know was that it would keep them occupied for a good bit of time. I returned a few minutes later to find lists completed and children a little calmer. We read the boy's new library book called "Monsters Eat Whiny Children"....how apropos. I then read each sister's list out loud, complimenting them for thought and creativity. Then I looked at G's list. Number 12 really spoke volumes:
The fighting subsided for a while, but has since picked up again at bedtime. I am at a loss as to how to resolve this issue. My brother and I rarely fought, so I am in foreign territory. We can only hope that the sisterly bond and mutual love of fried pig can carry them through these tumultuous times. Otherwise I will start selling tickets to the front yard fights...BYOB.
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As the youngest of 3 girls, I know a thing or 2 about fighting sisters. Not so much about stopping. My parents got so fed up with the fighting, my Dad built 2 bedrooms in the basement so we each had our own & a 4th bedroom as a "guest" bedroom. They used it as our time-out bedroom. It was NOT a kid's bedroom so it was horrendous to be sent there for any length of time. The fighting got better after that (except for long van trips), we could close our bedroom doors against each other.
ReplyDeleteMy 10-yr-old nieces seem to go out of their way to pick on each other & even punishments they hate don't stop them for long.
God Bless all the Moms of little girls who can't wait to grow up.