Brotherly Love

It’s amazing some times how children can be when they’re being scolded. Yesterday, my two stepsons, Kenny and Kerry, were having one of their many wonderful and enjoyable spats (sarcasm here). Kerry, the youngest (7 going on 17), was asking his brother to get off his bed because he had spent a lot of time to make it and worked hard to make it nice. Well, his brother, Kenny, moves at his own pace sometimes (middle schooler here) and wasn’t fast enough for Kerry. Well, the next thing I hear is Kenny telling him that he’s getting off and that he didn’t have to pinch him. I called Kerry over to scold him about pinching his brother.

Kerry sat down in time out for a while, and then we talked about what he did wrong and how things could have been done differently. You know, the usual parent/child discussion. Thinking he understood what he did wrong, I sent him to apologize to Kenny. Listening down the hall to make sure that he’s being nice about it, I overheard Kerry telling his brother that he was sorry for pinching him. Then, he proceeded to tell Kenny that he needs to respond faster next time. Whoa! “Kerry, get your little butt over here!” I called.

The funny thing is that Kerry honestly believed that Kenny was at fault for the whole thing. He takes matters into his own hands, but then on the other hand, his brother sort of deserves it if you think about it. He’s the one who showed Kerry how to be mean to his brother. At least that’s what I tell Kenny when Kerry’s not listening. Anyhow, after yet another heart-felt discussion with Kerry, he came to understand how he needed to make the right choice and NOT pinch his brother. Such brotherly love. I can feel the warmth emanating from their rooms now. Parenthood is so great!