Do you have any advice on sibling rivalry? I am dying here with my son 12 and my daughter 8. Its nonstop when they are around together : ( I try to stay out of a lot of it hoping they figure it out on their own and I also see them being friends from time to time but what are the techniques you use with 10?
Grellis this is a great topic for your thread : )
My three (27, 21 and 20) heard "No" plenty often enough, but I'll join the bandwagon in blaming the libs.
When my oldest was 13 or 14 we'd gone shopping for shoes. Money was in short supply, so she didn't get the (then) $80 Nikes. She was in a snit, and told me that not buying what she wanted was child abuse (She'd learned about it in school, you see) and that she was going to call Children's Protective Service on me.
I decided to save her the trouble, and drove directly to the police station with instructions to turn me in. She wouldn't get out of the car.
Needless to say, she changed her tune when she got her first part time job, and realized how long SHE would have to work for those shoes.
When the younger two were 14 and 13, I kicked their father out of the house. He developed a habit of dating while married, and just couldn't understand why I was upset. Eighteen months later, I met my current husband, whom the kids hated on principle. Their father paid them no attention, and I was finally starting to have a life.
For more than six months, every time I said no, I was told they'd just go live with their father.
Push came to shove one day in June, 1999, when my daughter cursed me out and my son hit me. They were gone within hours, and haven't spoken to me since.
And I have tried, repeatedly, to make contact.
My brother beat me up all the time. But, he would raise cain on anyone who bullied me or teased me. He also turned out to be a God-fearing man of great character and morals. I think that's pretty much normal for older brothers with younger sisters. C'est la vie.
I had actually planned a thread on rivalry early this summer, and then Reagan died, so I had the memorial thread and a summer fun thread along with it, since everyone needed a little cheering up.
Guess what we'll be discussing this Friday??!