"Do you see Swiper?"
Our children used to share nicely.
Maybe “share” isn’t the right word. When the boys had something Abbie wanted, she’d steal it. The boys would stare at the object of interest, derive pleasure from watching her play with it, and eventually wander off to find something else interesting. When Abbie had something the boys wanted, they let her keep it. They might only be two years old, but they know enough not to steal something from big sister.
Maybe I should say my children used to tolerate swiping. It was a joyous time free of crying and fighting. The boys would find something, Abbie would take it, the boys would find something else for her to take, and the cycle would continue. Of course sometimes the boys would steal from each other. That resulted in vicious, roll on the floor battles that left one child happily possessing a toy while the other child cried while sporting a fresh bite wound. Those episodes were rare, though, and the commotion usually attracted Abbie who stole the disputed item making the fight for naught anyway.
The boys are bigger, stronger, and more coordinated now, and they don’t tolerate sister’s behavior anymore. When Abbie steals something, they fight back. They can’t actually inflict damage on her, especially since she’s strong and quick enough to evade their bite attacks, but they can seriously annoy her.
Abbie stole a toy from Ian this afternoon. Sometimes the boys run away when they see her approaching with clutching fingers outstretched, but she snuck up on him from behind. When Ian saw his toy in her hands, he fought back and hit her in the chest. He hit her with his palm, and like I said he’s not strong enough to actually inflict damage, but it bothered her.
Abbie screamed in frustration from being unable to enjoy her ill-gotten gains in peace. Mommy noticed the screams and the hitting and vocally intervened.
“Stop that and say you’re sorry!” she menaced.
“Sorry,” said Abbie. She assumed she was the one in trouble, probably because she usually is. Mommy was more disturbed by Ian’s hitting. While we frown on swiping, we don’t tolerate hitting.
“No, not you, Abbie,” said mommy. “Ian needs to say sorry to you.”
“Sorry to you,” Ian repeated.
That’s close enough to learning a lesson for me.
Maybe “share” isn’t the right word. When the boys had something Abbie wanted, she’d steal it. The boys would stare at the object of interest, derive pleasure from watching her play with it, and eventually wander off to find something else interesting. When Abbie had something the boys wanted, they let her keep it. They might only be two years old, but they know enough not to steal something from big sister.
Maybe I should say my children used to tolerate swiping. It was a joyous time free of crying and fighting. The boys would find something, Abbie would take it, the boys would find something else for her to take, and the cycle would continue. Of course sometimes the boys would steal from each other. That resulted in vicious, roll on the floor battles that left one child happily possessing a toy while the other child cried while sporting a fresh bite wound. Those episodes were rare, though, and the commotion usually attracted Abbie who stole the disputed item making the fight for naught anyway.
The boys are bigger, stronger, and more coordinated now, and they don’t tolerate sister’s behavior anymore. When Abbie steals something, they fight back. They can’t actually inflict damage on her, especially since she’s strong and quick enough to evade their bite attacks, but they can seriously annoy her.
Abbie stole a toy from Ian this afternoon. Sometimes the boys run away when they see her approaching with clutching fingers outstretched, but she snuck up on him from behind. When Ian saw his toy in her hands, he fought back and hit her in the chest. He hit her with his palm, and like I said he’s not strong enough to actually inflict damage, but it bothered her.
Abbie screamed in frustration from being unable to enjoy her ill-gotten gains in peace. Mommy noticed the screams and the hitting and vocally intervened.
“Stop that and say you’re sorry!” she menaced.
“Sorry,” said Abbie. She assumed she was the one in trouble, probably because she usually is. Mommy was more disturbed by Ian’s hitting. While we frown on swiping, we don’t tolerate hitting.
“No, not you, Abbie,” said mommy. “Ian needs to say sorry to you.”
“Sorry to you,” Ian repeated.
That’s close enough to learning a lesson for me.
posted by Matt at
11:23 PM
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