With three squirmy toddlers, sitting on the couch can be a daunting task. We’re trying to teach them that we sit on furniture even though it’s bouncy and cushy and an absolutely perfect surface for jumping up and down.
Three. Near each other a lot. Hard floors. Enough hospital bills from our NICU days to keep us satisfied for a while. You see where I’m going.
So when they get rowdy, they get down. It’s working so far because my squirmies aren’t quite tall enough to climb onto the couches and chair on their own, so they’re at our mercy (I’m going to take advantage of that while I can).
Today, I sat with all three. They slowly started forgetting the on-your-bottom rule, and when it got out of hand, we got down.
Eleanor went about her business while Toby and Callista had a side-by-side fit. Toby ended up smacking the top of Callista’s head – not hard, but it certainly wasn’t nice. I sat him down quickly and said, “No, sir! That was not nice! We don’t hit.”
Before I could get the whole reprimand out, Toby flung himself back onto my legs, said, “SAH!” and signed, “Sorry!”
I about fell over.
We’ve been telling them with each accident or incident to tell so-and-so they’re sorry, to give a hug or kiss, and they somewhat comply. Kinda-sorta-not-really.
But apparently Toby’s been listening.
After I praised his apology (it was hard to stop!), I told him to give Callista a kiss. He got up, walked over to Callista, bent down and kissed her right on the lips – and she kissed him back.
I’ll be honest with you, I’ve been afraid of sibling stuff since I found out we were having more than one. An only child, I have no idea about how the whole sibling (let alone multiples!) thing works. I’ve seen hole-in-the-wall, hospital-visit-for-stitches fights, I’ve seen years of not speaking, I’ve seen best friends, mild acquaintances – you sibling types come in all shapes and sizes.
I have no clue how it works, how the dynamics form and how much of it is nature versus nurture. All I can do is pass on the general code of humanity, our beloved Goden Rule – Treat others as you’d like to be treated – and hope the respect translates into some form of sibling super bonding agent.
It was pretty cool today to see the lesson is playing out already.
You’re definitely doing A LOT right! You’re raising three awesome, sweet kiddos. ::pats you & R on the back::
Great story
I have 1 year old twin girls and have also feared the sibling stuff. The girls have started “fighting” here and there. I’m struggling with finding a balance between stepping in and letting them work it out on their own. One of my twins is extremely pushy and seems to get whatever she wants, leaving the other one in tears!
Great work on teaching them a very good lesson!
Siblings can be so hard at times when they fight but the sweet moments are so rewarding. When they are off “by themselves” I feel like my heart could not get any bigger.
Love this! Abby doesn’t have siblings, but she can be pretty cranky pants and say not so nice things to her parents and we’ve worked a lot on saying sorry and manners and all that jazz. It melts your heart to see the kiddos listening and understanding. It’s all about us as parents. I bet you were beaming when Toby said he was sorry.
nice work. 😉