Victory!!! At Least For Now

This morning, while in another room, I heard Dane and Daelyn arguing in the Den. Apparently, Daelyn had gotten ahold of one of Dane's Lego toys and was playing with it. Dane snatched it from him.

Daelyn: "I had it first, brother. Give it back."

Dane: "It doesn't matter who had it first. It's mine and I don't want you to play with it."

Daelyn crying. Dane silent. I called Dane to me and Daelyn followed. I asked Dane if he had taken the toy from Daelyn. He admitted to snatching, a no-no in our house. Then I asked if Daelyn had retaliated by hitting or kicking.

The answer was NO!!! No aggressive retaliation. Just tears. Finally, victory!

I talked with both the boys. I explained to Dane that he had no right to snatch and that he was to come to me with a problem, not take matters into his own hands. He asked Daelyn's forgiveness for snatching the Lego boat from him. Then I explained to Daelyn that every time he plays with Dane's Lego's, he loses some. I told him that, even though he had it first, he should not play with Dane's Lego's. He asked Dane's forgiveness and kissed him.

The next thing I knew, Daelyn was getting one of his favorite trucks to give to his brother as an expression of love. They hugged and went off to play together after I told Daelyn how happy I was with his choice to cry and not hit. He was very pleased with himself.

Small victory, but victory all the same. One checkmark in the "Good Choice" column.