Parenting Advice from Michael

Last week I was blogging about how the boys are in a constant state of war and I was nothing more than a referee.

One of the comments on the post came from the always entertaining and helpful Michael of Michael's Meanderings fame. All he wrote in the comment section was, "The trick is to leave the room." Now at first I just ignored his comment because he has two lovely little girls. How can a dad of two lovely little girls have any idea as to what I am going through? We all know girls sit and colour instead of stuffing markers up their nose and don't scream "attack" and leap teeth bared at their sibling. We all know little girls are perfect creatures that are never any trouble.

But then I remembered that Michael has a brother.... And him and his brother have both made it to adulthood.... so perhaps I should listen to his advice.

This weekend I started with operation "Ignore Fighting Boys". First I took all of the toys out of the living room and put them into their bedrooms. The boys have never had toys in their bedroom before and they always play in the living room. I was hoping they would spend a bit more time in their bedrooms playing together. Second, I really did ignore them. I walked away from fights. I told them to fix things or get things by themselves or ask their sibling for help. Now I did have to intervene a few times when the attacks came out of the rooms and there were serious tears, but overall the last couple of days have been better. And my living room has been so much cleaner although by the end of the day their bedrooms look like a bomb went off!

Thank you Michael for your parenting advice! And if you ever want to trade your lovely little girls for two destructive little boys for a week, I am game!