Tuesday, June 30, 2009

Sibling rivalry...

OMGoodness. It has gotten so terribly bad at my house. They are not even nice when they talk to each other and they are not wanting to be mean. Their tones are driving me crazy! But then, after about half a day of listening to the bickering I find myself yelling things like "BE NICE TO EACH OTHER!!!" or "STOP YELLING!" So stupid. But man... after 4 days of this, I am so sick and tired of it!

I need some ideas. Does anyone have any besides "just don't kill them". lol... (My husband is full of great advice.) I have already taken away the tv time (always a factor in bad attitudes) and cut back on the sugar (usually the same, but not always). I just need some tools. Even if they don't work, something to work with to get me to stop pulling my hair out would be nice.

It doesn't help that Logan has had his first two monster fits in the last two days, and he has started yelling back at us "YES I CAN" when we say no.

Sigh... I am worn out.

3 comments:

Sarah said...

No advice, just sympathy. I am there with you. I get so frustrated when a simple comment of "we are having ___ for dinner" from one brother results in a "I KNOW THAT! You don't have to tell me that!!!!" I mean what's with the attitude and meanness? They are so mean to each other in many of their interactions. Lakin has lots more fits these days....I am remembering why 2.5-3.5, while it is a cute age, is NOT my favorite age. :)

Annicles said...

That sibling meaness is horrible isn't it?! I quite often deal with it by telling them that if they are getting on each others nerves that badly then they need to be in different places and doing separate things. I also put (more) limits on the tv/wii/computer because it is ofen a power struggle. My only other suggestion is to sit them down, explain how it sounds, how it changes the atmosphere in the house and how it needs to stop. I give them consequences - if they make the feeling in the house bad they have to help change it back- usually by doing a chore that needs doing straight away or running an errand.

Sorry i have no really good advise!!!

Val in the Rose Garden said...

Sadie: {{{hugs}}} Yep. Me too.

Annciles: That second suggestion is a great one! I like the idea of a chore being 'chaging atmosphere' instead of punishment.

I am already seeing changes from the no tv time. There are times that I feel like tv at all is poison. (We don't have cable, just DVD's and a screen) It is so nice to not have it in the house for a while. I talked to Dh about it and he is on board (as much as someone who says "yeah, whatever you say" can be)... so we are going tv super light for a while.

Val