Family dinner.
Today is Friday. It's the day my eldest child returns to our household after a week with her father. She splits her time between two homes. She does not like change. In her absence, my youngest child asserts the role of Only Child. It's one they both reluctantly give up.
I collect them from two different locations before Friday dinner, and more often than not, they bicker all the way home. In the evening, it can escalate to whacking, biting, and sometimes includes spitting. It's a scene playing out across town; I have no doubt.
My best strategy to pre-empt it is a sit-down family dinner. Sometimes we go out. The temptation can be very strong, but it adds up quickly. I'm planning something different tonight. Although we're generally a meatless household, I will bake another small black forest ham. It's the same kind we had for Christmas, and they know it's a treat.
I enlisted their help in the meal prep, and it worked. No whacking. No biting. No kidding.
