Archives

June 2, 1995

How do I get my kids to stop fighting with each other?

My kids are in their thirties and they still can't sit down at Thanksgiving dinner without getting into some kind of tiff. Last year Marcia threw her yams at Dennis when he said she needed more exercise. But I do know that certain kinds of fish will kill each other. So you might consider putting them in separate aquariums.

Children, like grownups, often react sensitively when they feel their own rights aren't being respected. Children, like grownups, can sometimes get caught in a negative loop, in which each one reacts to the other's hostility with more hostility. They don't enjoy this, but they feel they must somehow defend their honor.

The best way to break this loop is to let all the children know how special they are. When everyone feels loved, they don't need to react with hostility. As a busy parent who may feel burned out over all the bickering, this approach may seem the hardest. But try it.

Kelsey, How would you like to go out tonight to grab a bite to eat and see a film. What kind of films do you like? I like action films.

Yeah, I'll bet you do.

No thanks. For personal reasons, I'm not interested in any relationships right now.

There's this guy that likes me and he keeps asking me out, but he's such a dweeb. I keep making up excuses. What should I tell him?

Whenever some jerk asks me out, my usual answer is: "For personal reasons, I'm not interested in any relationships right now."

What is your name?

Hi, Joe. My name is Bob. It's real nice of you to ask. Not many people ask me that, you know. It seems most people either already know, or they don't care. But not you. I'm impressed. While I'm on the subject, this is really fascinating, you know Bob is short for Robert. You might think it would be short for Bobert, but it's not. There's no such name as Bobert. I tell you, these names are really something, huh? Bob is also short for yessireebob, which is one of my favorite sayings.

Previous: June 1, 1995 | Next: June 4, 1995