I am the mother of two girls .There is 18 months difference in there ages. They were only a year apart in school. Consequently they had the same friends and many times were in the same Girl Scout troop or team. Some people thought they were twins.
Although they had many similiarities they are very different in personality and worlds apart in interests.
You could compare the two to Snow White and Rose Red. (Both colorful characters but difinitely different in hue and personality).
As little girls they shared a bedroom and toys but I never made them share their dolls. Dolls were their pretend children and so were the exculsive right of their individual mom. Grrrlmeetsworld received a "My Friend Mandy" doll one year for Christmas. She was blonde with blue eyes, and pink dress and hat and was irresistable to Baby Girl.
Many fights would break out because Baby Girl was playing with "Mandy". Grrrl did not want Baby Girl playing with her doll. So time after time I would take "Mandy" away from Baby Girl and give her back to her momma. Grrrl rarely played with the doll and most times she was abandoned to the the toy box but there was always a fight if sister had the doll.
I am nocturnal in nature (the night shift will do that to you). So many nights I would be up in the kitchen and begin hearing low soft little "songs" coming from the girl's room. Upon investigating I would find Baby Girl wide awake tenderly rocking an abandoned "Mandy" and singing to her. The child would play with her at night while Grrrl was sleeping.
No, I didn't have the heart to take away "the beloved" so I let her play till she grew sleepy and tucked her in her bed. Mandy always found her way to Grrrl's bed by morning.
Fisher Price came out with a second doll. This doll, "my friend Jenny" was similiar to Mandy (same size and style and could wear the same clothing ) but had brown hair and brown eyes and darker skin tone. "Jenny "seemed to restore the balance back in the universe. Once again Snow White and Rose Red could be "separate but equal".
Baby Girl could concentrate her love on Jenny and thus ended the "doll wars".
However, I would still occasionally hear a late night lullaby and find Baby Girl softly rocking two doll sisters while her big sister slept.
Did your children have toys they fought over? How did you resolve the conflict?
Labels: Becky, Monday memories, Suzy
Posted by Lazy Daisy at 3:14 PM
My kids don't really fight over a specific toy. My youngest is in *love* with my daughter's baby. She usually doesn't care & insteads takes toys out of his room & stashes them in boxes & bags. She doesn't do this with my oldest, just the youngest. I can't figure out why in the world she'd want his star wars figures & cars. She doesn't play with them, only stashes them so no one will find them. Every month when I go in to sort through her toys do I find these items. The youngest doesn't seem to notice if anything is missing. That's so weird to me.