Friend or Foe!

Everyday I feel like I am going insane. I am constantly saying things like "Don't (hit, push, kick, pull hair, bite, or what ever else) your brother/sister! Despite being the best of friends they are also their own worst enemies. All day long they play nice, with many interruptions of the worst kind. I don't know what to do about it. I don't know if their is anything I can do. They don't actually hurt each other, not physically. Other than making the other mad and hurting their feelings.

A big problem we have is that Christopher pulls hair. I don't know how to get him to stop. We all tell him No. I have tried over and over to show him how to touch hair. He just loves to play with hair, and his fingers get stuck. Sometimes, but other times you can tell he just wanted to pull your hair.

I wonder if Evie thinks that Christopher has been pushing her. He is still very clumsy and falls a lot. He often uses her to stabilize himself, resulting in one or both of them falling. Lately she has been pushing him. She will even use her entire body to push him out of her way. Sometimes she doesn't even wait for him to get into her way before she pushes him. It is as if she thinks, "I know your gonna get in my way, so I'm gonna push you away before you have the chance." It is horrible. Most times he doesn't get hurt. Sometimes it hurts his feelings and occasionally he actually gets hurt. I keep telling her not to push. I've tried time out. I separate them both often. Usually, just for a few minutes.

However, if he cries she is always concerned about how he is doing. I take that back not always concerned. If she caused him to cry she usually doesn't pay any attention to his crying. She often says, "Sorry Baby!" Sometimes she apologizes before she pushes him! I know she is learning, but I don't want them to bully other kids!

For the most part they get along good. The biggest problem I have right now is that Christopher wants to do all the things that Evie does, but he just isn't ready to! The developmental gap between one and two is huge. He gets very upset with that. He gets jealous sometimes to. If Evie is sitting on my lap he will cry or pout. I just tell him it is ok, and have him come sit on the other side of my lap. He usually is fine with that. But it isn't long before the two of them are playing or fighting on my lap.