How Do You Handle Your Kids Fighting?

This is in response to a Daily Blog Prompt from Social Moms.  While I honestly can handle all the “Happy Screaming” the yelling, name calling, screeching, that goes on when the kids are fighting can sometimes drive me to the point that I am going to put myself in timeout just to get away.  But with 4 kids running around that is not always an option.

The prompt from Social Moms wanted to know; Do I let them fight it out?  Do I stop them?  What is my resolution?  Well, in all honesty, it really just depends.  Erik & Jackie fight all the time, and most of the time it is over something silly, like who has the remote for the TV.  At the ages of 12 & 9, I think that this requires more of a compromise rather than a solution.  With their ages, I make them figure that out on their own, and until they do, they have to watch dreaded “Mommy TV.”  However, if it is a more serious fight then they both get separated and sent to their rooms for 15 minutes, or until they can figure out a way to get along, this can sometimes mean hours of peace; if you didn’t count Saige & Alex running around.

I do however remember once when Erik & Jackie got into it for what seemed like forever.  No matter what it was, they just could not agree on anything, including not agreeing.  I don’t even remember what they were fighting over but I had, had enough.  I simply tied their wrists to one another and told them that they would have to figure out how to agree since they were stuck with each other and that when they could figure it out I would unattach them.  Talk about a look from both of them, of “Did she really just do that?”  Well, yes I did.  About 2 hours later they FINALLY agreed on something, the agreed that it would be fun to have Saige, who at the time was about 18 months old, run over to them and flip her over their arms.  This was not really the solution I was looking for at the time, but hey, they finally agreed that it was funny, Saige was laughing, and they had even put out pillows for her to land on. 

Not to long Erik ask me what made me tie them together and my response was “because you are brother & sister and you will always be a part of each others lives, you need to learn to get along and sometimes just agree to disagree.”  I once again got that look of “What are you talking about?”

 

There are a lot of great writing prompts on SocialMoms, wish I had the time to participate in more, but it is fun to read everyone’s responses.