Monday, August 20, 2007

Learning to Share

Sharing goes directly against the natural tendencies of small children. I thought we had more time. I thought we had at least another six months of peace until it began...

"NO! Stop, that's MINE!"

"HEY! I'm playing with that!"

"WAHHHHHHHH"

Since we returned from vacation, our children have discovered all of their old toys. This used to mean at least one week of nice, quiet play time. Now it means they have to SHARE. Oh, the horror.

I thought the twins would be good at sharing since they've always had to share everything, even my womb. Nope, not true. Isabel and Adam have a knack for wanting to play with the same toy at the same time, and both are pretty good at running away, twisting, and turning to keep something away from the other. Many times a day you'll hear the wail of a toy or sippy cup being taken away by the other baby. My current tactic is to tell them they need to share, and pick one of them up to try to distract them to move on to another toy.

Then, there's Anna. Sweet, adorable Anna. It might be a lack of sleep from trying to get used to being at home again, but she has not been good at sharing this week. No joke, she probably freaks out about a baby taking something at least 10 times a day. I tell her if she really doesn't want them to get something, she has to put it up high. Otherwise we have to take turns. Sometimes she's content with counting to 20 very slowly while a baby plays with something before she gets it back. Other times it takes a time out just to get over the extreme pain of having to share with her brother or sister.

Since the bickering has begun and I'm sure we'll be dealing with it pretty much for eternity, I have to remember that having more than one child also creates a lot of happy moments. There's nothing cuter than pushing each other on the tricycle, bathtime together, three faces hiding in the tent, playing with a ball, and of course spontaneous kisses.

Just remind me of that tomorrow morning at 9 AM when I'm already tired of asking everyone to share, okay Ben?

2 comments:

Tiffani said...

LOL. Sounds like my house. :0) We even tried to buy two of the exact same toy. All the do is fight over which toy belongs to which kid. Even though I point out that they are exactly the same. There is not one differnce between the two toys. "But he/she has the one that I want!"

Unknown said...

I'm cracking up! I love reading your stories because I get a preview of all the things Haval and I are going to experience when we have a bigger family!