"Stop it. Don't do that. Stop. Don't. Stop."
Often I could repeat that over and over again. Especially as I watch them nitpick each other to death. But lately the first thing that comes to my mind as I break up a skirmish between the loyal minions is that famous quote "Nobody moves and nobody gets hurt!"
I don't recall where I first heard this infamous line, I know I used it when I was a kid playing cops and robbers - although I don't recall whether I was a cop or a robber. But I'm finding that although I don't yell it out at the kids as they are about to poke each others eye out, it is the first thing that comes to my head.
And so my action from that point is to pull them apart and let them cool down a bit. Start the interrogation to get to the root of the problem. Figure out what the issue really is that's creating their discontentment... poor little fellas.
When they are tired, their fuse is even shorter so that it takes just a minor act to light the little kegs of dynamite. And that again is where my quote comes in "Nobody moves, nobody gets hurt!" "Put your hands up where I can see'em!" And then read them their rights and so on.
I could come in yelling like that great opening scene from Pulp Fiction...
What would my kids turn out like if I played the role of robber rather than cop?

No comments:
Post a Comment