If your kids are anything like mine, then they fight. I’m not sure exactly why so much. But they just know how to push each others buttons. I’ve noticed over the last few months there is a pattern. They miss each other during the week, so in the weekday afternoons they play nicely. But on the weekends by Saturday afternoon, they are both in separate rooms.
Well, I am tired of it! Every weekend it’s the same thing – Selah yells at Finn and Finn tells on Selah. Over and over again. Now, I’m not writing this as a venting session. I’m writing this because I’m hoping I found a solution. There are tons of blog posts about this topic. But I came upon this one on Pinterest.I liked it because she provides a bunch of ideas as well as a templates print out. All I had to do was get a mason jar, print the ideas, and glue everything together! When they start fighting, I simply point them to the get along jar. They choose a craft stick and then do what it says. Fingers crossed this works!
Then grab a mason jar and here are some ideas you can add to craft sticks:
- Say three nice things about the other person.
- Chose one of your sibling’s chores and do it for them.
- Turn on some music and dance together for at least five minutes.
- Read a storybook together, taking it in turns to each read a page.
- Set the table together.
- Choose GRACE.
- Clear out the car.
- Make up a ‘getting along song’ and perform it for the family.
- Make the other person’s bed.
- Draw or write an apology letter to the other person.
- Write a poem for the other person.
- Clean the back deck.
- Get each other a glass of water and sit outside to drink it.
- Draw something positive about your sibling.
- Sweep the floor together.
- Make each other a ‘sorry’ card.
- Dust the furniture in a certain room together
- Play Simon Says for six minutes, with each person being Simon for three minutes.
- Jump on the trampoline together for at least five minutes.
- Go have a real wrestling match outside.
- Draw a picture of each other.
- Give each other a big hug.
- Play a board game together.
- Put away your sibling’s laundry.
- Go and check the mail together.
- Draw and write a positive about your sibling.
- Clean the bathroom sinks together.
- Pick up the other person’s toys.
- Do 10 sit-ups, 10 star jumps and five push-ups.
- Tell each other a story.
- Draw a picture together
- Tell each other a secret.
- Do a kind deed together for someone else.
- Ask your sibling to tell you one thing they would like you to do differently.
- Clean the sliding glass doors together (one on each side).
My hope is this will help them to learn how to work out their differences on their own. Because of course, that’s how it works in the real world as they get older 🙂
Any other “get along” ideas you can add to my list?
Confessions of a Mom 