Sick of being a referee

[mintchips]

DD1 nearly 6 andd dd2 3.6 have been fighting ALL day.

I know its been a crap day weather wise and they havent been able to get out but they have driven me up the wall!

If they're not physically fighting ie, pinching, hitting, kicking etc they're bickering and arguing and saying things to wind eachother up.

We all baked a cake together this morning and they were arguing doing that!

I try to ignore as much as I can, and dish out punishments eg naughty step, no treats etc, but 5 minutes later they're at it again.

Sorry for the moan. How do the rest of you deal with fighting siblings?

[NAB3]

I can't hear you when you talk like that, said over and over until they stop.

I have started to send them away to sort it out for themselves and it is working well. They don't really sort much out but they stop the fighting.

Mine are 6 and almost 4.

[auburnmum]

Have given this advice before, because someone gave it to me and it really really worked. When there's a fight, desscribe the problem back to them and ask them for a solution, e.g. so there's 2 of you and one mixing spoon, what shall we do? If they say, I don't know, just calmly repeat it and encourage them to come up with an answer. Don't move on until they come up with an answer that suits both of them. Good luck!