When I was little I wanted a brother or sister to play with. During the summer or winter breaks I longed to have someone there. My siblings are much older than me and we never lived together. So as an adult, who chose to have four children and was so happy that they had someone to play with and that they had siblings the way I always wanted, I wasn't prepared for them to fight with each other and for the heartbreak I would feel watching them hurt one another.
The girls aren't so bad. I can usually get them on the same page and squabbles are easily remedied when I talk with Ellie about how Regan wants to be just like her and she can teach her things. Everyone loves Jack (so far, lol) and the only person who pesters him is Regan, which is to be expected because she's two and he is kind of in her baby territory. That's an easy fix as well. Read to her or simply engage her and she is good to go and will usually not pester him anymore. Ethan and Ellie are another story. They simply live to aggravate one another. Lately it seems like no matter what we do, they choose to disagree and not get along. It is heartbreaking to watch and listen to. I am at my wit's end and the summer is not even halfway over!
So we are trying some things out to remedy the situation. Both punishment (because they have continued to fight and its not allowed in the house) and some things to help them communicate better. I'll let you know how it goes. Right now there is no television and they are not allowed to talk to each other or play with the same thing at the same time. I have tried making them say nice things about the other one- Ellie can always say something nice, Ethan will say he can't think of anything (which to me is cruel) and then he gets in even more trouble. What do you do when your kids don't get along???
The girls aren't so bad. I can usually get them on the same page and squabbles are easily remedied when I talk with Ellie about how Regan wants to be just like her and she can teach her things. Everyone loves Jack (so far, lol) and the only person who pesters him is Regan, which is to be expected because she's two and he is kind of in her baby territory. That's an easy fix as well. Read to her or simply engage her and she is good to go and will usually not pester him anymore. Ethan and Ellie are another story. They simply live to aggravate one another. Lately it seems like no matter what we do, they choose to disagree and not get along. It is heartbreaking to watch and listen to. I am at my wit's end and the summer is not even halfway over!
So we are trying some things out to remedy the situation. Both punishment (because they have continued to fight and its not allowed in the house) and some things to help them communicate better. I'll let you know how it goes. Right now there is no television and they are not allowed to talk to each other or play with the same thing at the same time. I have tried making them say nice things about the other one- Ellie can always say something nice, Ethan will say he can't think of anything (which to me is cruel) and then he gets in even more trouble. What do you do when your kids don't get along???
We've haven't gotten to that stage yet, but I know it's coming. I remember my sister and I (four years between us)fought like cats and dogs. Good luck.
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