Wednesday, February 24, 2010

Transitions

Andrew is having a hard time since Daniel has been home. It's not that he doesn't want a brother or that he doesn't love Daniel...he does...he has said it. But it's hard. It's hard to share his room and his toys and his mom. I think it would have been easier for him if Daniel had been an infant but in the long run, I think that both boys will love being so close in age.
I hate seeing him struggle to be nice to his brother when I know that he wants to be. He is frustrated and doesn't know how to verbalize it.
Today, we started using a chart to help him to practice being 'nice' to Daniel. Each time he is kind to him in some way, he gets a star on the chart. When he gets 10 stars, he gets to watch a movie. It's not the most natural scenario, but it has already made him more aware of what he is doing throughout the day. Tonight, he needed three more stars and he kept coming up with new ways to be nice to Daniel so he could earn those last stars.





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7 comments:

  1. aw, poor Andrew...this has to be a big transition (that I know we will be going through this summer in our house;) It will get better in time.

    great idea with the chart.

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  2. Andrew is awesome and so are YOU! Remember to give yourself lots of stars too... huge transition for all of you!

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  3. Love the chart idea! It worked with my kids too. My daughter decided to be a boy when my son was born and would not let me comb her hair. She also went on sleep strike :( It passes and now they are GREAT FRIENDS...

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  4. My girls are 4.5 months apart. The youngest, V, went back to China with me to pick up her sister. V was almost 2.5 yrs. old at the time and B was 33 months at adoption. V and B also share a room. I really had to stop and think about things quite often to make sure I was giving each one of the girls individual attention. The chart is a great idea!

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  5. Poor Andrew...I know it's a huge transition for him. I'm sure it's also a HUGE transition for you too! I really like the chart idea, especially since he's so young and can't verbalize what he's feeling. Great idea!

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  6. What a smart idea! I love the chart. I know the two boys are going to adore each other soon, but I'm so sorry they're going through this tough transition period. Soon they'll be like peas in a pod ganging up on you instead of each other.

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  7. Why am I not surprised by the chart?! Will you be doing progress monitoring and graphing with that info?
    hahaha love it.

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