Thursday, June 05, 2008

Monkey See, Monkey Don't.

Why, when I give a toy or a lollipop or a piggyback ride or whatever, to one of my two boys, the other one immediatley wants the exact same thing (the same exact action figure, the same color, flavor, what have you, it has to be exactly the same) and they will carry-on until they get it, but when I offer a choice of a TV show or dessert or whether we will play in the front yard or back yard they can never agree and they will argue nonstop?

15 comments:

Patience said...

Always brothers, always rivals! That's just the way it is!

Teri said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Teri said...

I've learned, even dealing with my niece and nephew, that what you give to one you must give to the other, so no fights ensue.

siblings, they are so lovely!

Unknown said...

Damn good question there, William. Let me know if you find out the answer.

Anonymous said...

I'm pretty sure the answer is 'because you did it to your parents'.

Unknown said...

I see it too...now if only Nathan would want to eat as much variety of healthy food for dinner as Alex does. We haven't gotten to the arguing stage yet.

Anonymous said...

Ugh. Instead of lollipops my 3-year-old wants that delish booby his little sister is getting... I much rather wish it were tootsie pops and not titties he was hankering for...

Bogart said...

I figure if someone else wants it there must be value there...

eclectic said...

The rule is this: Their job -- their #1 priority as children -- is to maximize parental frustration in order to promote personal growth in their caregivers. They only want the same thing if it inconveniences their parents. And they disagree on anything else for the same reason.

Glad I could clear that up for ya.

Anonymous said...

Hmmmm. I was going to commentbut I am now "hankering" for something...

April said...

My boys are 10 and 8 and they still do that. Come to think of it my husband and his brother are 35 and 32 and they still do it, too. Hmmmmm.

Anonymous said...

It's a conspiracy. Or, if you ask your mom, she might say "payback."

Elda - Peace in the Storm said...

Murphy's Law.

Same thing with my kids. For the first few years of their life I had to buy double everything. I suggest you do the same thing. Same goes for getting two tv's and two receivers -- will save you a headache or two.

Anonymous said...

What a perfect example of the circle of life. I just LOVE watching my children be parents!!!! What a joy it is!!!! momo9

Anonymous said...

Switch it up! "Boy gets to pick front or back yard and Kid gets a lollie!" "I want to pick the yard!" "I want the lollie!" "Ok, great, there you go, guys!"

My boys do the same thing(s). And, they want to dress alike, to the point of the older undressing-and-dressing the younger, despite his lack of agreeing to this plan.

"Look, mom! We both have laundry baskets on our heads!"

Awesome. That was my hope for the day, after all....

-DQ