The "Get Along" shirt

I have seen this idea float around Pinterest quite a bit.  I never "pinned" it, but I certainly tucked the idea away in the back of my brain you know as a - just in case - type of thing.  Well it has finally resorted to me needing to use it.

Let me set up the scenario for you:

Benjamin vs Hannah.

They both wake up crabby then they start fighting with each other. It doesn't stop until Benjamin is out the door for school.  Things are beautiful again at home (because they are finally separated) then Benjamin comes home and it starts up again. They fight and whine and scream and yell about the silliest things - in my opinion

I've tried time outs, breaks in their own rooms, negotiations, bribes, counting etc. but nothing was helping.  In fact in many ways it almost made it worse.

I was at my wits end.  I don't know if it is their ages or gender or personality or some or all 3 of these factors but something seriously had to change.

Then I remembered the "Get Along" shirt idea I had seen on Pinterest. So during one particular horrible fight I grabbed the largest T-shirt we had (one that has been stretched out by multiple pregnancies) and put it on them.  Both of their little heads fit through the neck hole (Phew! They wouldn't be choking.) and they each got one arm hole. Then I told them they needed to sit on he floor and finish the puzzle they had been fighting over - together.

They thought it was hilarious.

They giggled the entire time.

Epic fail!!!!!

Or so I thought.

After talking with Marc about what happened he made a very valid point:

They were happy.  They were getting along.  They learned to work together. They had changed their attitude.

He was right.  Everything I had been trying to change, happened.  I wanted them to be nice to each other, to have fun, to just plain get along!!!  I hadn't failed after all.  And you know what? For the rest of the day things did go better between them.  Not PERFECT but better.  Their fights were more easily resolved and they were actually playing together - nicely!

No it hasn't fixed the problem entirely, I guess I never really thought it would. I mean they still have a lifetime of being siblings. They will have times when they won't get along, when they bug the heck out of each other but I have hope that one day these spats won't be so intense and frequent. And yes I have pulled the shirt out since then.

Like this morning:



Only they didn't think it was as funny this time; but it still did the trick.