Anonymous wrote:I find when my kids have been in a whirl of school and activities that they forget how to have big chunks of time (more than ~2-3 hours) with each other. It takes a while. So if you've been doing after school stuff plus school and suddenly your kids have a weekend trapped inside together, they might not remember some of the skills they need to deal with each other peacefully. But the skills always come back.

Yes I agree with this. But it's still good to find ways to get them out of the house and apart here or there. Like I'll take one kid to the library and then later the other kid will run to Target with me. I usually make up reasons why they need to come. Sometimes the reason is just "you need to get out of the house".

Also once I realized all the outdoor sports would be canceled, we rustled up playdates. At least that way there were kids outside of the sibling dynamic for a few hours. By Sunday my kids were playing pretty well together for the morning, but I knew in the afternoon they'd be apart (one had a party). We did a family movie after lunch to break up the day a bit.

My kids are 4/6/8. If I give them too big of a clean-up task late in the day, it’s always a disaster. 4yo melts down and doesn’t help, older kids whine, fight, and complain. Now I just make sure we clean up earlier, or leave it until morning when they are rested. Makes such a difference!

We also do screen time breaks when the kids start arguing and whining a lot. We are already fairly low-screen, but I can definitely see an uptick in crabbiness when we get really lax about TV.

How often do you spend 1-on-1 time with each child? My kids always seem more regulated when DH or I can fill that undivided attention cup, even if it’s just reading with them alone for 20 minutes/ talking about their day at school without interruption.

I find when my kids have been in a whirl of school and activities that they forget how to have big chunks of time (more than ~2-3 hours) with each other. It takes a while. So if you've been doing after school stuff plus school and suddenly your kids have a weekend trapped inside together, they might not remember some of the skills they need to deal with each other peacefully. But the skills always come back.

Oh my goodness. I didn't know how much I need to hear that other's had a weekend like this. It was such an awful weekend and the awful just spiraled. Their behavior made me extra grumpy, my grumpy made their behavior worse. I was so glad to see everyone head off to school today.

Anonymous wrote:The weather this weekend was terrible.

+1 these weekends are the worst

mine are like this too. five and eight. they feed off one another's energy and it's so chaotic. we had a babysitter and i thought they would be good for her like they are at school but they tormented the poor woman. it's so hard.

The weather this weekend was terrible.

Yes we often have to keep our kids apart for a bit to keep the peace. They just can’t leave each other alone, even when annoyed and agitated. Mine are 9 and 7, and this has gotten better. Not perfect, but better. The 9 year old will move on sometimes. The 7 year old still whines a bit.

Mine are the same ages. Rough day here too! They can be so sweet but are at peak fighting. Solidarity!

Sure, sometimes separating them makes them miss each other. No guarantees, of course! But it can be worth engineering some separate time so you get a break when they're squabbling.

Yeah, kids are like that sometimes. Normal for the age, especially that specific age gap with siblings.

My 5 and 7 you behaved awfully today. Fighting over who presses elevator buttons, walk buttons, meltdowns over losing round of game or a ‘race’ that wasn’t supposed to become one. I thought ok them to a kid museum all morning but they were still rambunctious in the afternoon. I just felt so disappointed that especially the 7 yo but even the 5 yo is still melting down so easily. I also made them clean up their games before bed and it was lots of whining. I think I need to eliminate screens. But it’s almost like I need to separate them.