1. Write for 5 minutes flat – no editing, no over thinking, no backtracking.
2. Link back here and invite others to join in.
3. And then absolutely, no ifs, ands or buts about it, you need to visit the person who linked up before you & encourage them in their comments. Seriously. That is, like, the rule. And the fun. And the heart of this community...
Five minutes on red...
GO
"What do you want for breakfast?" I yell. Every morning around 7:15. That's the time the kids are supposed to be headed towards the table to eat. I usually yell it on repeat, because they aren't actually at the table at 7:15, just headed generally in that direction.
The most common response is "cereal." I'm fine with that. It's less effort for me and pretty quick to eat. Also, somewhere along the line, they came up with the idea of mixing different cereals together. So even though I have to bring three boxes to the table, they happily eat Cheerios mixed with Chex mixed with Cinnamon Toast Crunch. 1/3 sugary cereal seems a good mix to me. And they don't argue about which cereal they get to eat.
What they do argue about is the bowls. I typically bring 5 bowls to the table for three kids. We have two Toy Story bowls; one Woody, one Buzz that are the cause of many arguments at the table. I fianlly got smart and hid those on top of the fridge. Today I bring a blue ceramic one, a teddy bear shaped baby bowl, a green plastic bowl that used to have a suction cup on the bottom and a red plastic-y one. The boys look at the bowls and Ben starts to go for the bear bowl at the same time Henry aims for the red one. So, of course now Ben wants the red one and the fight starts!
I realize that the smart thing would be to only bring identical bowls to the table, but the bowls we have that match aren't good for eating cereal, so we don't usually use them. I could buy new bowls for the kids, but we already have bowls and they'd just find something else to argue over.
It isn't the red bowl. It is a little boy who fiercely looks up to his big brother and wants to do everything he does. Even when it's impossible to do. Even when it gets annoying. Even when it starts a fight. And that's not completely a bad thing. So I referee the fight (today it's Henry turn with the red bowl, tomorrow it's yours) and hope that he grows out of the arguing without growing out of the hero worship.
My boys.
STOP
Oh, girl! I can so relate to this!! I finally had to institute the rule- if you ask for a certain bowl, you don't get it!! It has finally been the thing that has worked. I love how you ended this- that the fights would stop, but that your little one wouldn't get over the hero worship of his brother. So sweet!
ReplyDeleteI’ve actually told Henry to whisper his request to me out of earshot of his brother. Then I just give them bowls and everyone is happy (for a brief moment!)
DeleteYes! yes! My kids would fight about anything too - so I understand our not wanting to go out and invest in more bowls!
ReplyDeleteOh Gosh, yes, kids will really fight about anything...everything! My little one wants to be just like her big sister in every way! I totally related to this.-Ashley
ReplyDeleteThere will always be things to argue about - you are so right! My little guy wants to be just like his big brother - he is in such a hurry to all the same things. :)
ReplyDeleteMy little one isn't really old enough to argue but my older one does the arguing for both of them. She wants everything he gets! Poor kid. I love the prompt this week!
ReplyDeleteOh, I love it. I cannot wait to see what Flash does to the Animal as they grow up. I hope there's tons of annoying stuff that happens... in a good way. :) I need to play along with this on Fridays!!
ReplyDelete