Doing It by the Book

Mr. ADM and I have had many a conversation regarding sibling relationships. We want our kids to have close relationships with each other. So, this week, while at the library and browsing, I happened upon a book I had been interested in reading for sometime - Siblings Without Rivalry. It's a great read and I managed to get it all down in one sitting last night.

As I was reading, I'd summarize each chapter for Mr. ADM who was playing video games next to me (our kiddos were in bed). He was intrigued, impressed and optimistic about trying out some of the suggestions in the book. This is not the normal Mr. ADM who is all practicality and common-sense and very much not a fan of any psycho-babble books I bring into this house (except Dr. Ray, of course).

Today, Matthew had a meltdown. It involved his glass of chocolate milk, the gallon of milk, and his grandma (my mom) and a clashing off all the above. For some reason, this greatly upset Matthew to the point where he burst into tears and wouldn't stop crying. The crying part, I get. The crying for 10 minutes straight over spilled milk, I was little confused about. Grandma even apologized profusely and tried to give him hugs, which would almost instantly work for any other situation. Not today. The boy would not be consoled.

Much to my amazement, Mr. ADM whipped out our newfound, psycho-babble skills and started out.
Matthew: **SOB* (crying and crying)
Mr. ADM: "Are you upset?"
Matthew: (in between sobs) Yeeeeeeessssss.
Mr. ADM: "I bet that Grandma accidentally knocking your milk over must have hurt your feelings."
Matthew: (in between more sobs) Yeeeeeeessssss.

Mr. ADM then looked at me helplessly. We finally distracted Matthew enough to get him to the table to eat lunch and he was as good as new once we got him in his seat. Mr. ADM informed me this evening that he tried and then he forgot what came after the first step. I applauded him and informed him that I, too, drew a blank so that's why I stood there and watched. I guess we have more reviewing to go over before we try this out with the boys fighting... Hope you all had a blessed Palm Sunday!