Mum blogger Melissa Roy has shared a genius hack on her Facebook page that could help to stop your children from squabbling with each other - just by using a pen and paper.
The mum-of-three wanted a way to explain to her kids that saying 'mean, hateful or hurtful things to other people, it's the same as taking their feelings and crumpling them up' in a way that they would understand and remember.
https://www.facebook.com/BeyondMommying/posts/891537111025011
Melissa got her two daughters to sit down and she gave each of them a blank piece of paper and a pen.
She then told them both to write down how they would like other people to treat them.
Once they'd written down their thoughts, she got the girls to swap papers, and read out loud what the other had written.
When they listened to what each other thought, Melissa told them to say 'I don't care' and crumple up the papers.
In this instance, the kids' feelings are represented by the pieces of paper.
She asked the girls, 'Now, how do we fix it? What do we do after we hurt another person's feelings?'
Her seven-year-old responded by saying that the right thing to do is to say 'sorry', and the mum-of-three agreed that the best way to fix it, is by 'saying sorry or showing the other person love and kindness'.
But in order to fix the pieces of paper (or feelings), the girls then had to try and smooth them out. They quickly understood that once the sheets of paper were crumpled up, there was no way they'd ever be the same again.
Melissa explained, 'My girls quickly realized, though, that they couldn't just smooth the paper back out. No matter how hard they tried, the wrinkles were still there.
'And as they tried to fix their sister's words and feelings they'd destroyed, they saw how hard it is. And real feelings are the same.
'No matter how hard you try to smooth over hurt, the scars of the pain will remain. No matter what you do, or say, once you've wrinkled another person's feelings, those marks will always be there.'
By using the pieces of paper, Melissa's daughters were able to physically see the damage that fighting and squabbling does to each other.
So by giving them visual cues, it seems they were able to relate to it a lot easier.
What do you think? Would this work for your kids? Let us know what you think below - especially if you've given it a go!
