It almost seems par for the course – siblings in a constant state of war with each other. It was the same when I was a child and I have seen this with my own children. Is this something that parents just have to accept? Their beloved kids who seem to hate each other’s guts and are constantly trying to get the better of each other? This mother had a great idea to stop her kids from fighting:
She made a rule for her kids, that they were allowed to hit each other only once a day, so they had to think long and hard about when and how to use that option. Apparently, the actual hitting has stopped.
This comment added another suggestion: let unused hits be carried forward. While this could be an incentive not to raise one's hand on one day, it could backfire if at a later date the child feels they have enough hits in their ‘account.’
Some replies to the tweet thought that this was a bad idea since it ‘allowed’ hitting at all.
Some also thought that the ‘one hit’ allowance could yield some very bad results.
This commentator explains why a rule like this can make a kid think before reacting with violence. That pause for thinking is what can help defuse the situation.
This is another tip to stop the fight – fight in a language that the children are not yet fluent in. This is also known to help.
Parents who have a hard time getting their kids to follow good dental hygiene can follow this: brush because the tooth fairy won’t leave you money. Appeal to the child’s acquisitive instincts if all else doesn’t work.
The parenting tip to make kids behave can work later in life as well – as this comment explains.
This is another great idea – the kid that doesn’t yell wins. Rather like this game I used to have my kids play: the B Silent game. Whoever stays quiet the longest wins!
Kids using abusive language can be told to use politer, more benign-sounding phrases. The novelty itself could work here.
As a parent I would sometimes ask for a bite of my child’s ice cream – and explain that this is for them to understand the concept of taxation. Trading hits could help explain some economic concepts – and stop the hitting as well!
If you hit your sibling you have your gadget (s) taken away. I am pretty sure that this sort of a rule would prevent siblings hitting each other.
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