Forcing a Friendship
My kids are driving me nuts. They fight constantly, and I'm not sure why. I can't blame it on just one of them, because they both like to tease each other to the point of tears. I think it's worse now that Little H is out of preschool for the summer, and they spend an extra long time with each other all day long. Ironically, the lesson I taught in church yesterday posed the question, "How can you encourage friendship between your children?"
I was totally stumped, but I asked the question anyway, (reminding me of a quip in To Kill a Mockingbird, where Atticus advises his kids to never ask a question they didn't already know the answer to) and bravely waited for a response. To my delight, I got some great advice that I feel like I should write down before I forget it.
1) Encourage them to work and serve for each other and with each other. (i.e. clean up one room at a time together and move onto the next one together.)
2) Go to games, recitals, events, etc. as a family so the children are accustomed to cheering and supporting each other.
3) At family prayer, have everyone in the family mention something they are concerned with and then the individual saying the prayer should include everyone's concerns. This makes them more aware of each other's problems and not so self-involved.
I know my kids are pretty young, but I really want them to be close. I fought a lot with my brothers and sisters growing up, and I know a lot of it was my own fault because I was so bossy and controlling (probably still am). But as an adult, I really love an appreciate them. I want my kids to realize sooner rather than later how much they should mean to each other.
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