If you are a parent, you’re probably familiar with a few of the following statements; “He hit me,” “She looked at me,” “He ate the last Cheeto — he’s such a pig,” “She used my eraser,” “He thought about poking me,” “He cheated,” “He got to sit in the front last time,” “He’s such a loser!”
And as a parent, you are expected to solve the problem fairly by determining who started the argument, which by now has evolved into something completely unrelated to the original spat.
With both children accusing each other of heinous acts while simultaneously denying each other’s allegations, getting to the root of the problem becomes more difficult than solving global warming.
Even if you successfully end one argument, it’s usually not long before another one starts because, in kid world, there are just so many things to fight about.
It could be the basketball that no one wanted six months ago that is now deflated in a corner of the garage covered in spider webs.
If one child wants it, another will fight for it. A piece of lint from the carpet can become a sought-after treasure, with one child screaming he found it first, so finders keepers.
The other child really has no use for the lint, and, despite an entire carpet full of lint, will only want that particular piece of lint, and both children will swear they cannot live without it. So how do we intervene appropriately while hopefully putting an end to the constant battles?
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