A punishment passed on

The other day the boys were fighting with each other non-stop. Every suggestion, comment and thought, no matter how trivial, seemed to develop into a heated argument. The typical punishments of time-outs, separation, and extra chores didn't work. As soon as their sentences were up, the brawling resumed. Finally, I had had enough.

Then I shocked them. I asked the boys to sit down quietly and hold hands. It wasn't my idea. It was my grandmother's brilliant solution when her own young boys fought each other. I recall my father telling me how much he had hated it, so I thought I'd give it a try with my troublesome twins. (My mom had always threatened my brother and I with it, but never really had to carry it through- we were horrified at the idea)!

At first the boys thought it was funny. (Thus the smirks on their faces in this picture). But when they learned they had to stay there and hold hands for more than three seconds, their grins quickly vanished. Then once I told them I was going to post it on the blog the protests really broke out!

At last when the hand-holding session was over and they wiped off each other's "cooties", their little spats ceased for the rest of the afternoon. Many prayers of thanks to my Grandma in heaven for the great advice! As a mom of several children, I think of her often and miss her that much more.