JJ and myself just spent five days away from Adelaide. We’re on holidays and this coincided with a party at a friend’s property a few hours away. We broke it up a bit by staying at a friend’s place halfway and then went to a place at Marion Bay to stay with a couple of friends and their son in a house we rented.
Their son is a few months away from turning six years old and my son is seven and a bit and it’s interesting watching the dynamics between the two of them.
One minute they’d be best of friends and the next minute they’d be at each others throats. It was usually for pretty small reasons like someone not following the rules. My son likes the rules to be followed and so does this other boy so were there some fireworks when it didn’t happen.
JJ did the right thing when he got angry and took himself to another room but he was followed and more arguing ensued. I’d say to the other kid to leave JJ alone for a bit but he just didn’t listen to me. I don’t know if I should have just let them battle it out and to a certain extent that’s what we did but more than once we had to intervene and try to explain that you don’t say or do those things to your friends.
The two boys spent a night together with the other boy’s father while his mum and I went to the party and at the back of my mind I prayed that things went okay and there were no major blow-ups. Fortunately there weren’t.
At this party (it was a weekend long camping affair) which JJ attended during the day he was fine and was really good with another kid who’s nearly three years old. He kept an eye out for him and hung around with him for a long time. It’s just with this other kid that there’s these blow-ups.
Hopefully it’s just a stage and they’ll become best of friends without fighting all the time.
And just for a change of subject, below is a photo of the landscape near where I stayed. What animal does it look like to you?
Gee – Komodo Dragon.
I know the pain of which you speak, where you have taught your child strategies but other children don’t realise them.
We had a cousin infused holiday which luckily didn’t have too many dramatics.
Has JJ got some key phrases you and he can practice that can give the “need space” message?
Really, kids do eventually work most things out, but it is hard not to dive in and “help” sometimes, isn’t it? Especially when they do need help at times.
Good luck.
Short of making sure they don’t beat on each other…..the boys will work these things out Jen. I think you parents did great. I love the picture of them running on the shore. What a beautiful place.
Joy, it was a lovely place and so nice to get away for a few days. And, yes, I think the boys will work it out.