“Mom, he hit me.
”
“Dad, she pulled my hair.”
“She’s bugging me.”
“Leave me alone.”
“He took my seat.”
“I wanted that toy.”
I don’t know what has happened but we seem to have turned some kind of corner in our house in the last two weeks…and it’s not a fun corner. With a snap of the fingers, the kids (ages two-and-a-half, four-and-a-half and newly seven) have figured out how to push each other’s buttons and are constantly pulling the triggers. There has been more yelling, tattling, frustration and crying than any house needs.
The worst thing is that the kids are suddenly more physical with each other than they’ve ever been as well. With the pestering and little things we can stand back and let them work it out on their own. With the hitting, pinching and hair-pulling we have to intervene and discipline.
It’s actually really hard on the head. In my opinion we’re a pretty fun and loving home. My husband and I don’t argue in front of the kids. Listening to the yelling, crying and the eventual scream for one of us has actually made me want to start yelling, crying and blaming others too.
Kids are kids – of course this kind of behavior is normal and has always happened in our house. The current issue is the frequency with which it’s happening…all the time.
At first I was worried that we had hit a new stage and that this was going to be the new definition of life at the Millers (insert the old expression ‘somebody kill me now’ here). After our oldest commented last week that she felt she just needed some space, I’m now thinking that the excitement of summer vacation is just wearing off a bit and that the kids are trying navigating life together every minute of every day. My learning from this summer is that maybe we need to break-up the weeks with a camp or two for each of the girls. That way they get a break from each other and get to do something they enjoy with other kids.
In a few short weeks we’ll be back to the normal routine – this time with two in school. Fall activities will begin and with any luck, the time the kids have together will go back to being fun and the screams of, “Mom he did this” and, “Dad she did this” will go back to being at normal intervals. In the meantime, we’ll do our best to plan some end-of-summer fun and maybe go out and buy just one more bottle of Advil.
Deanna is a Mom of three, wife, marketer and blogger – lover of travel, morning coffee, family time, belly laughs, good friends and uninterrupted showers! Follow her on twitter @DeannaCMiller