How do you keep your kids from fighting? HELP!

[poohkinandpiglet]

I share in your pain. Just wanted to say that I'm taking a parenting class and reading two fabulous books that I would recommend to anyone with children or anyone that teaches children .

Liberated Parents, Liberated Children: Your Guide to a Happier Family by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

and

How to Talk So Kids Will Listen and How to Listen So Kids Will Talk by Adele Faber and Elaine Mazlish

Both books are very funny and offer a fantastic approach to dealing with the everyday trials and tribulations of life with kids.

 

[deirdrefitch]

We went to the beach last weekend, and my teenage boys did their impression of the "your touching me/I'm not touching you" commercial for four hours in the car. I had to remind them of the invisible dividing line in the center of the seat.
By the time we got there, I felt like touching someone!

 

[mommytutu]

Originally posted by NMAmy
Remember that Office Max commercial where the dad's riding the shopping cart up and down the aisles while you hear "It's the most wonderful time of the year" in the background? That was my mom at the end of a long, long summer!

I LOVE that commercial. I LMBO EVERY time I see it!!

 

[Mad4Mickey]

I just wouldnt let them hurt eachother and let them go . They will work it out . It is crazy at first and you wont believe it when it stops .
I was once at the point that I was going to send one of mine to live with their father . DESPERATE !!!!
I didnt ever tell them that . But I wanted to ....

They are 16 & 18 now and well they love eachother . and DH and I know that it is really "US" against "Them"

 

[FINFAN]

Well, I don't know how to keep them from starting a fight, but they end pretty quickly here..I hit them where it hurts...in their banks! Until I get the truth and decency out of them, each nasty phrase, dig, slammed door etc. requires anywhere from $.50 to $5.00 to be removed from the guilty parties bank and put into their siblings bank. They can NOT STAND the thought of the one they are so mad at getting the best of them AND their money. I have never had a fight go past $6.00 and my kids are 9( almost 10) and 14..and things can get pretty ugly around here w/a TEENkerbell!

 

[donaldbuzz&minnie]

I used to tell my daughters when a fight began that they needed to go upstairs and talk with each other (no hitting!) until they could come up with a solution that worked for both of them. When they came back downstairs and tried to tell me all about their argument, I would stop them and just ask if they were both happy with their solution. If they were fine, if not they went back upstairs. Neither one wanted to be stuck up there for long, so they kept their arguments to a minimum. They had to learn good negotiation skills, to keep their fights with someone private, and to a minimum. Best of all, I didn't need to be a referee, which was much more relaxing than life could have been.

They get along well as adults, but so do my 2 sisters and I, and we fought like cats and dogs when we were kids. (One sister still has the indentation in her forehead where I jammed my fingernail in hard.)

 

[we3luvdisney]

I have 3 brothers and we use to fight all the time -- 3 on 1, 2 on 2, 1 on 3. It's normal! the main thing our parents taught us is that you may fight, but when push comes to shove the only people that will support you is your family ---- don't expect anyone else to support you.

We are now in our 40's and we all get along. Actually, when we all get together we revert back to being kids (without the punching & slugging). Our spouses just roll their eyes at us.