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Sunday, August 7, 2011

5 kids 3 parents 2 weeks

My sister, her 2 daughters, and her friend's daughter is staying with
us for 2 weeks. The kids are generally good but they each have very
different personalities. 'A' is 9 years old and is constantly testing
boundaries. She often wants to be first, be the best, and wants her
way for everything. 'P' is also 9 years old. She is legalistic and
will follow rules to a T but will also call others out when they break
rules. She will not initiate but will follow others. 'B' is 7 years
old and is the quiet one. She is observant and very pensive. She
uses her words sparingly and is slow to react.

With this combination, my sister and I have had to be hardcore
disciplinarian to A and P. Usually, it's when A pushes the boundaries
or when P displays bad attitude or when they are fighting over
something 'unfair'.

After days of constantly asking them to share, to not fight over
things, etc, I saw a few glimpses of hope:

1. When P wanted to sit in the front of the rollercoaster, A didn't
complain even though she really wanted to. Right before they got on, P
asked if A wanted to sit in the front, A said yes and P let her sit in
front.

2. When they were all given a choice of 5 flavors of hand sanitizers,
A let P choose first.

Even though they will inevitably revert back to their personalities, I
am glad to see that they have demonstrated the ability and
willingness to improve their behaviour.