Sibling Interactions

So thankful for helpful websites like Simple Kids. And their most recent article, 6 Peaceful Solutions for Hitting and Anger.

Our most recent problem follows a scenario like this:

Ezra comes toward Peter, coveting a toy (this morning it was his lego boat). 
Peter says, NO! this is MY toy! (can't blame him). 
Then his hand comes up and he bops Ezra on the head. Ezra cries and feels very sad, of course. 

We've been sending Peter to his room for such actions and having serious chats about it such as "legos are easy to fix, but broken hearts are harder" and "family is more important than toys".

Appealing to the emotional side, my strong point. But not sure it's getting through to my boy.

So -- new solution to try -- Hand Clapping.

When Peter feels that angry feeling and want to hit Ezra, he needs to redirect that physical aggression into a nice hard clap (of his own two hands together). When Ezra sees the hand clap, he'll know he shouldn't get into Peter's bubble, but shouldn't have the hurt feelings he's getting when being hit.

Peter has been pre-taught, we'll see what happens when the next episode in Getting Along With Brother airs.