Grumble, Grumble

My big boy has been a little not himself this week.

Lovely as a Peach to myself and Dadda, guests and friends But.......

not to Little Kangaroo :(

Kookaburra has had a lot to say to Kangaroo this week, not too nicely either. He has also barely played with Kangaroo, often brushing him off and preferring the solitude of the hammock looking out into the garden or crouched over his Lego. I've dwelt on this little, well actually I'll be truthful, huge problem for a few days and I'm certain that the source of sourness may be very simple.

Its not a huge leap to figure that all it may be is my Kookaburra and I need to make contact more frequently. A hand on his shoulder, a ruff of his thick mane, a tight squeeze to tell him how much I Love Him and the slow tickle on his back to tell him he's worth my time.

As babes I suckled them and met our our Little People eye to eye. As Toddlers, they graced my knees and we rubbed noses frequently followed by secret whisperings and of course I told them constantly how gorgeous they were and how we Love, Love, Loved them. Our delicious toddlers have grown to be chubby preschoolers and this is where I think I see the divide.

In our family, while Kookaburra sits on the other side of our kitchen table with his lesson work spread around him, preschooler Kangaroo sits upon my knee to learn his letters and numbers. During the day Little Kangaroo will be the one curled up in my lap for story time. Whilst all this attention is being lavished upon the baby of the family, definitely not quite as much is happening for my big boy who lately may not be enjoying being quite so big.

Not only is he not receiving the same level of physical contact as given to Kangaroo, but he has further salt in his wounds. Kookaburra has chores which are a lot comparatively to Kangaroo, but of course he is older so therefor he should. Kookaburra is more likely to have a reprimand or harsh words from myself than his baby brother will. Kookaburra is older and has more Lesson Work, Chores to complete and other responsibilities and expectations that we're unconscious of. I'm sure he feels this difference between himself and his brother heavily. Even though he is older, Kookaburra is still only little and would see himself as being equal to Kangaroo and feel these differences as being unfair even if he understands it logically.

I'm sure I remember being upset by similar circumstances when I was the Older Kid in the Family.

So this is the problem.....

Kookaburra needs more gentle and tender, heartfelt and loving, genuine physical contact......

I need to heal the divide between Kookaburra and Kangaroo and unite them in their brotherhood and friendship.......

Too Easy :D

It isn't hard around here to find time for a cuddle and a chat.

As for healing that divide....

That was the reason for our trip to the Beach today!

They look so Happy :D

A shared experience.

So much fun and laughter.

Keeping them united in brotherhood and friendship will take more than one afternoon at the beach. This is going to take many, many afternoons of play. Beach, park , bush and at home. More often with me than I have been too! Reading with them both in my lap. Singing on both their beds at night. Spontaneous and Frequent cuddles. More present, active listening on my part. I need to keep to the forefront of my mind that it's how we spend our family time and the quality of our family's relationships that's going to make the real difference in our boys lives.