AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! F***ing sibling rivalry DOING MY HEAD IN

[LupusinaLlamasuit]

I am going to lock them in the car or summat. For a week.

Biggish gaps between 3 boys. Eldest and youngest can be sensibly left in a room alone for 2 minutes (and no longer). With any other combination, someone is injured within 30 secs. Unfortunately the eldest is a very bright but very explosive personality who SETS A VERY BAD example to the other two.

Unless we get him to co-operate we've no hope. But it is so hard, as we can't (given the age gap) expect the very same things of all of them (how can I sit a one year old outside the room when he's whacking people round the head? I do, but it doesn't work in any case).

Sanctions have to be age appropriate, which you'd hope a 10 yo would understand.

Meanwhile middle child (nearly 5) is usually even-tempered but going through a difficult phase (not co-operating, screaming piercingly, hitting - including at smaller kids at nursery). And because the toddler sees both his elders do it, he is learning also.

None of them are smacked at home, but all have gone to nursery where it seems rife.

Should I just give up trying to civilise them and let them beat the shit out of each other? Or implement an absolute and disciplinarian zero-tolerance policy (but give me details of how to implement with such different ages please!) or find some better ways of encouraging co-operation and 'teamwork'. Problem is with the latter that it is actually pretty difficult now to find things that all 3 can do together.

4 of us sat down this afternoon to play a game together while the toddler had a nap. That ended in tears and histrionics because eldest boy had a strop because he was winning but then started losing.

Please. Someone. Pour me a gin and take them away for a weekend .

[LupusinaLlamasuit]

I mean otherkids hitting at nursery btw, not the staff!

[smugmumofboys]

lol mine are away for the weekend. The silence is deafening.

I don't have any answers, just symapathy. My two are 6 (going on 16) and 4. I've tried the 'let them work it out themselves - it'll teach them to get on with others' thing and it always ends in thefavour of the whip-smart big 'un.

Will be watching with interest.

[LupusinaLlamasuit]

Any. Ideas. Before. I. Go. NUTS.