The Best of Friends

If you were to come to my house for one day, you would probably leave thinking that my son and daughter were bitter enemies. The amount of yelling, screaming and fighting that goes on in our basement can border on domestic violence. I've been trying to follow the Positive Discipline Tool Card of "Put Kids In The Same Boat", but sometimes the level of unrest rises to such a fever pitch I will go downstairs to investigate the cause of the screaming, yelling and tears.

Usually the cause of the fight is nothing more than one child stealing the T.V. remote while the other child wasn't looking. Which doesn't seem like a reason to go ballistic, but to my kids that is basically equivalent to the North Koreans launching a nuclear missile. So I am left to wonder "Why do my kids hate each other so much?". But just when I am about to surrender to the fact that my son will always be a bully and my daughter will always be a drama queen, something happens that gives me hope that they actually do care for each other.

A couple days ago my children were invited by their cousins to go to our local amusement park while I stayed home to recuperate from my knee surgery. I was obviously concerned how they would behave without my supervision, but I crossed my fingers and sent them on their way. When they returned I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Gibson had been the model older brother. Taking care of his younger sister and making sure she had a good time and didn't get lost in the crowds. Their Aunt reported back how impressed she was how great my kids were together and how they seemed to be best friends. And not only were all the reports positive, but they brought back photographic proof of how much fun they were having together.

It warms my heart to know that while my children do experience the typical sibling rivalry, deep down inside they also love each other and are best friends.