My thanks to all who have participated in my "Feed My Kids" contest. I will be posting all results as soon as I've cooked up all the recipes. It will probably be a couple of weeks (I haven't actually been cooking very much this last week) but you shall be updated and all winners will be notified, never you fear.
Secondly, I would like to hear tips from parents (or highly effective aunts and uncles) on how they get children to stop fighting. I have some very determined children and they are intent on what they want to the point where I can hardly get their attention sometimes. What techniques do you use to keep contention down?
4 comments:
My kids laugh about it now, but when they were young, I used to make them sit on the "repentance chair" if they got into a fight. That meant that they had to sit together, usually on the couch, for a short time and tell the other person things they were good at (I would give them the number of things they had to come up with). They often repeated the same things everytime they got in trouble, but it, as far as I can remember, always ended the fight, partially because they were thinking about other things by then, and partially because their "good things list" sometimes became silly and made them laugh. The silly ones came more often when I made them come up with a large number--like five (LOL) or more.
Another thing we tried to do in order to avoid "sibling rivalry" was to find specific things each child was good at and to promote those things. As a result, I have seen very little competition between our children, and I am so glad.
That's what worked for me.
Oh! I totally forgot I wanted to help feed your kids (o: Because I'm a picky eater so of course I'd win, lol.
Here are my two, if you'll still take them.
SPAGHETTI CASSEROLE
8 oz. cream cheese
8 oz. sour cream
1 lb. lean hamburger
1 bottle (26 oz.) spaghetti sauce
1 heaping tbsp. sugar
8 oz. mozzarella cheese, shredded
Thin spaghetti noodles, small package
In a separate bowl, bring cream cheese and sour cream to room temperature and mix until well combined. In a skillet, brown hamburger; drain. Stir in spaghetti sauce and sugar and simmer for 10 minutes. Cook and drain noodles according to package directions.
In a greased 9 x 12-inch pan, spread half the cream mixture. Next, layer half of the noodles, hamburger sauce, and cheese. Repeat layers. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
BEAN AND CHEESE BURRITO CASSEROLE
1 large package frozen bean and cheese burritos
1 large can Rosarita enchilada sauce
10 oz. shredded cheddar cheese
2 tomatoes, diced
2 cups shredded lettuce
Sliced olives
Sour cream
Spray a 9x12 inch casserole dish with Pam. Arrange as many frozen burritos in the dish as possible. Pour enchilada sauce over all. Use sauce sparingly; cover lightly but do not use entire can. Spread shredded cheese over all. Bake in preheated 350 oven about 30-40 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and browned on edges. Serve diced tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sliced olives and sour cream on the side so that they can be piled on top, if desired.
As for how to stop fighting. Make the older ones move out. Worked very well for my family (o:
Oh that spaghetti casserole looks delicious!
I wish I could help you with the fighting. My kids get along fairly well most of the time, but tonight DH was talking to the hometeachers, and he said to daughter, "please go fight with your brother so we can visit."
Of course, he was handing her a styrofoam sword...but it sounded really really odd.
Tristi -
You know my kids - active, rambunctious, LOUD . . . among other great kid-things. I've found a few things that help.
1. Putting toys in time out. Yep, if they can't share or it causes too much fighting, then the toy must be the one in trouble. So it goes into time out, which is usually on top of the refrigerator where they can't reach (yet).
2. Love and Logic Classes (or books or cassettes). Confession: I haven't done the classes yet but will be this fall. But John has taken the classes and seems to handle the kids much better than me. Distressing, I know - but true!
3. Good Old Time Out (or Take a Break) in your room. This works better some days than others. But it generally gives the kids a break from each other and then they play better together.
4. Ear Plugs. The bigger, the better. :)
Hope some of this helps!
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