Siblings- Friends and Enemies

The Wife made cupcakes when she was done with work today. The cupcakes happened to be for the boy’s birthday tomorrow. So she let him have first dibs at licking the mixing bowl. She let the lass lick the beater.

But the lass wanted some more, so she tried to get a pinch or two from the bowl that the boy was working on. Things quickly went downhill from their. The boy defended the bowl like he was the MVP goalie of the Stanley Cups playoffs. The lass resorted to every trick in her arsenal to penetrate his defenses. Including whining.

It finally got to the point that I told them both they were done. I shooed them out of the kitchen. Actually, it was more like ordering them out of the kitchen.

The boy didn’t take kindly to this situation. Apparently, he’s got some kind of 6th sense capability to accurately measure the amount of batter he’s consumed versus his sister. Something on the order of “A thousand-billion times” more. So he decided to take his frustration out on her by chasing her around with a rope and swinging it at her. The lass, or her part, ran around screaming at him to stop.

So, once again, I intervened. Telling the boy that it was just as much his fault as her fault that I’d made them stop eating the batter. I explained how he could have just told her to wait and that she could finish what he didn’t; that there had been no need for him to be so belligerent towards her. I took away the rope for good measure.

Anyone with experience with 8-year olds probably knows that my rational explanation had absolutely no effect on him whatsoever. He continued pursuing the lass around the house. The lass continued shrieking for him to stop. Finally, I’d had enough and confronted the boy a 2nd time. He finally relented his pursuit and went off to sulk. I also told the lass to stop shrieking and find something else to do.

Five minutes later I heard more shrieking from outside. I poked my head out. The boy and the lass were playing together on their play gym.