Veto Power

So... our "sweet, precious angels" have had a struggle with sharing all the wonderful, new toys that they got for Christmas. Specifically, the arguement has been over the Paperoni craft maker that Micah got and the Pixos that Savanna got. I won't get into all the details, but it wasn't pretty. My solution was to send them into their respective bedrooms with pen and paper in hand and make them come up with their own set of "toy rules". I also gave them a quick lesson on the power of veto and explained that they would each get to veto one of the other person's rules if they felt like it was unreasonable. Would you believe, that IMMEDIATELY all the tears and complaining stopped! I don't know if they felt impowered or maybe they just thought their dear, sweet mother had officially lost her mind. Anyways, a few minutes later they emmerged with their freshly penned rules. You can probably use your detective skills and piece together what provoked the original argument based on the specificity of some of the rules.




Savanna's Toy Rules:




1. People should NOT play with the toy without asking the person who owns it.



2. We should NOT argue who gets to play with a toy first.



3. Always share your toys with other people.



4. Let the person that owns the toy play with it first because it isn't fair if it is their toy and the other person plays with it first.



5. Always obey the rules!

(Savanna's last rule reminded me of Barney Fife: "Here at the rock, there are two rules. Rule number one: NO WRITING ON THE WALLS. AS IT TAKES A LOT OF WORK TO GET WRITING OFF SUCH WALLS. Rule number two: OBEY ALL RULES!")

Micah's Toy Rules:

1. No one should have to ask to play with the toys.

2. Savanna can play with Paperoni if she wants.



3. I won't play with her toys when she is sleeping.



4. Savanna can not play with Paperoni when I'm asleep.








Overall, I think they did a very good job at writing their own rules. Neither one exercised their veto power, and they even shook hands in agreement over their new "contract". I asked what the consequence should be if someone broke one of the rules. They decided the toy should be taken away. Sounds good to me!



Ahhh.... adventures in parenting!