Mom the Mediator

Sometimes I wonder if I am the only parent to experience angst over the silly little "things" kids think are important like: who is the real owner of the cheapie toy from some restaurant, party, teacher, etc. that has been in the house for many months. Or who gets to play with the little cheapie toy. Or who broke it. Generally, my response to these things is something like: "If I hear, smell, touch, see, or think about that toy one more time I will throw it away!"  Although I have thrown many of them away I can see that this response is wearing a little thin.  In other words, it's not really working anymore--I'm throwing a lot of stuff away :) but there is still always something to fight about.  Apparently.

Last night I was almost  losing my sanity.  I was soooo tired and it was soooo noisy and after over 45 minutes of 1st and 3rd grade homework and a couple of hours of music practicing, lessons, etc.  I was getting cranky.  Two kids were driving me NUTS arguing over stupid little flip flop key chains.  I was trying to ignore/avoid getting involved and it was quickly becoming obvious that I was going to get drawn in to mediate (throw something away) again.  I was thinking to myself "How ridiculous!  They don't even have keys they have to keep track of!  Why does Ethan even care about a stupid thing like that to engage in such a fight with her (Ivy)?"  Here's some of the conversation:

Me (very calmly and matter-of-factly):  "Let me see if I understand this correctly.  This big fight is over a little flip flop key chain?"

Ethan looks a little guilty and Ivy says: "But Mom it is about a BLUE flip flop key chain which is mine we got them from Mrs. Bird at the beginning of the summer and Ethan got orange and I got blue and Nathan got green and so this blue key chain is mine and he won't give...

I cut her off and say: "Ivy STOP!  Ethan--is this little blue flip flop key chain very important to you?"

At this point Ethan not only looks a little guilty but he looks a lot sheepish as he clearly does NOT want to admit that stupid little blue flip flop key chain is at all important to him--it wouldn't be good for his male ego and the blue flip flop key chain is returned.

So this morning as I get home from taking Eva to school I walk into another argument about a stupid little pink blow up ball.  I promise I am not making this stuff up!  So I say to the boy (I think it was Nathan but it could have been Ethan also or possibly both of them--I didn't really want to know):  "Is this fight about a PINK ball?"  To which a boy responded: "We were playing with it..."  I cut them off and said:  "Let me get this straight.  You were playing with a PINK ball and you want to continue playing with the pink ball?"  Silence from the boys.  And then silence from Ivy as the ball was tossed out of their room.