Struggling with three boys!

[thatsenough]

I usually cope quite well with our boys 6,4 and 23 months, but in the last few days seem to have stumbled into a black mood that is affecting the whole family.

The behaviour of the older two has been awful over the last week, generally rude, disobedient and cheeky with constant fighting and bickering.

DS1 refuses to do any of the homework set by his teacher for next term and seems to have forgotten everything he has been taught in the last year - I have tried to stay calm, but have now told him that he's getting no more help and can explain to his teacher why it isn't done

Yes I know he's only six, but I feel so inexplicably angry and can't rationalise why, I had such lovely plans for the holidays for when I'm not at work, but can't even stand to leave the house with them at the moment - so far today I have hidden the scalextrix and thrown away a scooter for bad behaviour - I've told them that oneida foot out of place today and the bears get it.

Do any of you have any good coping strategies as I am really making a hash of things?

Yy to feral.

See other families in their 2.4 splendour, then glance down to the gibbons that I gave birth to, hanging off lampposts screeching and wonder if nights of conception involving one too many glasses of Pinot and lack of contact lenses made me miss the monkey sex I must have taken part in.

I swear I have never seen any children behave like mine. As someone else said about theirs, sometimes they can be complete angels! They will suddenly clean and tidy, hold hands, play lovely but then pull the sofas apart and start bouncing, or start screaming - god the screaming! THey think it's sooo funny to suddenly screech and out-do eachother on how high pitched it can get! Our house doesn't have a garden, best thing I did behaviour wise with the boys was move in with MIL (for other reasons) where they have a garden. I will never move back into our house now, you just cannot coop up boys!

i have a trio of trouble too, and mine are best when then are well exercised and shown a lot of attention, and well fed and watered, plenty of planned acitvities too, bike riding swimming, local park with a football, all energy intensive then the afternoons are a little more lkaid back visiting friends etc, good luck

Think I might have a peek at the girl thread and see if females have to be continually exercised.

I get resentful sometimes that I (a very non active person) has to be up, dressed and out on physical type thing by 9am just so I can expect, not great, but not so silly behaviour.

Three boys here to. Mine are 9.6, 5.10 and 4.2. I empathise with everything everyone says here.

We are off camping at the moment for three weeks and the boys are loving the freedom.

Oh! Meant to say we have implemented the pasta jars at home. I bought three jars from the Pound Shop and a few bags of basics pasta. I then taped a pound coin to the insideof the lids and they get pasta for good behaviour and when the pasta hits the pound they can take it to the Pound Shop to buy something. It is great at getting them to behave especially when out, all I have to say now is 'pasta'.

Love the code word

Everyone else must think you've got some sort of Italian Tourettes, shouting "pasta" in the streets.

Might adopt as my own idea, think we'd need very small jars or the pound would always be out of reach...

Well I do five pieces or ten pieces or whatever. I try to aim to fill the jar in a week so it is not going on for to long and they get it for everything ie: setting the table, getting dressed quickly, walking nicely.

And yes I have had a few weird looks :) but who cares.

C'mon someone must have some advice about the bickering..surely there is some kind of magic fix.

asecretlemonadedrinker I understood your post so much I could have written it myself. My two can turn at any second. they can be so well behaved one minute and then next they are climbing the kitchen table throwing cherrios all over the floor (this actually happened last week in front of my judgy sil with her 2.4 family).

On the plus side, they are great craic!

Meant to say, I heard of a good book called 'Siblings without rivalry'.

I found this discussion on it that Im reading right now hoping for a few tips.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/parenting/951129-Siblings-without-Rivalry-Have-just-bought-read-and/AllOnOnePage

2 boys here and I could do a chart with 9 yo ds eg: frequent number of days at football camp equals fab fun happy mood. Frequent time stuck in due to rain equals grumpy picky narkiness. All totally scientific and proper.

4 yo ds never stops whatever the weather, but talks the hind legs of a field of donkeys!

We are going to Northumberland soon and I plan to let them run and run all over it!

Caracaro - I love Northunberland, such a beautiful place, we were there last November and despite it being freezing cold, we wrapped up warn and spent every day on the beach - the boys had a fantastic time and ask when we can go again!

As for the bickering I just separate them for 10 minutes or so to break the cycle - not punishment as such, but more of a "you play in that room and you play in that one'"!

We are off camping for the weekend - wish me luck!

Think it's the noise from wake up till sleep that I find the hardest. Even when playing nicely the noise can escalate so fast!

I always thought I must not be doing something right till I found this thread.

I absolutely adore mine, only wish that other people were a little more understanding sometimes...think I need to develop a thicker skin!!

oh loving this thread and giggling to myself...all so true, so funny and so infuriating ! My 3 are out with their Gran today, whole house to myself and I found myself actually saying out loud after they left "peace, peace, peace", non stop until I thought I may actually have overdosed on my codeine painkillers. Despite previous post, and my 3 boys being generally pretty good this holiday, I had minor surgery on Wednesday and have been suffering some pain since. That combined with this scenario :- littlest one (just turned 7) cartwheeling and jumping off sofa into the splits as soon as look at him (he is the gymnast and bloody big show off), middle one (8) asking every 5 mins to buy/sell something on ebay or asking to ride to the shops now he is 8 or a million other "can I" questions (he is the wheelerdeeler) and eldest (12) who swings between xbox and being out with mates is no trouble really apart from asking for the odd £3 towards a kebab occsionally. It really truly does get easier, less noisy and challenging as they get older, and I really truly miss all the playdough, water, bubble, den and paint fun as they all tend to pretty much get on with their own stuff when we are at home. BUT at least once a day the 3 x testosterone has to be expelled and this is done by mass fighting either on the trampoline, sofa or any flat surface. it starts off in fits of giggles and ends up with no 2 or no 3 shrieking and screaming and any one of the 3 being sent up to room. However it now bounces off me like a ping pong ball, the scolded one gets sent up, the injured one gets a few ooh and aaahs and the wine gets put in the fridge to cool, soooorted. Love the idea of a mother of boys club, would have loved some ideas and suggestions when my 3 were little. Oh but the cuddles are still the absolute best :o

Feel heartened by your post Nerf that it:
A) gets a bit easier
B) you still get cuddles

Back from Northumberland and WOW what a place, have fallen for it hook line and sinker ANYWAY in relation to this post I just wanted to say that the brotherly bonding that my two boys (4 & 9) have done over the past week has made me weep. The love, care, fun and joy they have had together has been worth it's weight in diamonds, gold, platimum and rubies! They had such a fun day at Alnwick Castle with their £5 each (!!!!!) plastic Harry Potter wands (DS2 4 has no idea who Harry Potter is but got on with it anyway). I just loved to watch them bond!

It is beautiful, isn't it? DH grew up around there and loves to back (sadly no relatives for us to stay with). Did you get to Bamburgh or over to Holy Island? - Our older two were fascinated with the drive across the causeway?

I'm so pleased you had a great time!

Someone told me that they have saying in Italy that mothers of 3 boys have a special place in heaven when they die!!! I still have to have one more to guarantee my place!

We're on holiday too this week. DH at the head of the pack, me bringing up the rear (clucking quietly). On the continent they seem to have more large/extended families (or maybe it's just our highly tolerant holiday destination) - feeling less conspicuous!

Good for you .

Really FootsFirst they are never loud? Please share your secret!

But FootsFirst you said you didn't find yours loud - I am right in thinking that they are loud, but no louder than girls?