Gifts Giving and Receiving for 09/15/2017
Dear Family Coach
Dear Family Coach: A friend visited recently and brought a toy for both of my children. The 5-year-old received an awesome puzzle, and the 3-year-old received a dolphin bath toy. Unfortunately, my older son became obsessed with his brother’s dolphin. He pushed his gift aside and obsessed over the dolphin. I tried to get them to share, but it became a source of constant bickering and tantrums for my older son. In the end, I took it away, but that felt unfair. What should I have done? – Caught Mom
Dear Caught: How sweet that your friend brought the boys gifts. How sad that your oldest ruined the moment for everyone. But really, he isn’t to blame. You are. The good news is that you can easily undo the damage so it doesn’t happen again.
Updated: Fri Sep 15, 2017