So, it would be an incomplete journal of parenthood without allowing a glimpse into what is currently being referred to by me as "bickerdom." This is a "perfect storm" sort of combination of all the right ingredients resulting in maximum bickering. These ingredients include: still the lack of total outside play, a 3 year old who has learned to stand up for himself, a 5 year old boy, an easily annoyed 8 year old girl, etc.
I'll begin with the bickering between Will and Cole. Don't get me wrong, when they find a groove they can be the best of pals. When they don't, there is often a
lot more discussion about semantics than necessary. Here are examples:
- Is this a dog bone or dog treat?
- Is this day sunny or bright?
- Do I have a two-wheeler or a dirt bike?
- Is this called a jacket or a coat? I want to wear a jacket, but Will says this is a coat.
- Is Cole a toddler or a big boy? I mean, he's not big like me, but he's not really a toddler. (We settled on preschooler).
And they argue about this. Back and forth. It's a dog treat shaped like a bone. End of story. Well, the sun is shining from behind the clouds, so it's bright, but you can't really SEE the sun. As you can see, I do a lot of "you're both right" and "let's talk about something more fun." It's tiring.
Tune in for Part 2 entitled: His big toe is touching me.
3 comments:
I love how you say 'let's talk about something more fun' to them -you're not validating either side as being right (or wrong) yet you redirect them in a polite way.
That's genius!
I need to start writing down your tips for Owen so I can remember them when he's at the same stages :)
Ok, I choked on the water I was drinking when I read this. You are so funny! While I'm sure this is terribly annoying (honestly, this is a phase we either breezed through or haven't hit yet), it makes for a good story!
Cup 1/2 full: their arguments at least sound like intillectual discussions...ours are more like "he hit me so I hit him 10 times back".
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