She’s copying me!

Ever heard your 7-year old wail, “Mooooom, she’s copying me!”?  How do you handle that?  Maybe you should go with science.  When the 4-year old takes a nap, sit the 7-year old down at the serious table such as a dining table and have some paper and crayons handy to draw out your lesson.  Explain to your son that his sister is imitating him because that’s how she learns.  Tell him that monkey kids do the same thing.  He’ll like that.  Draw out stick figures that show that he’s her first and best teacher.  What he does, she does in order to learn how to take care of herself, how to read, write, and do math.  She’ll learn how to open boxes, use crayons and pencils, build with blocks, play games, get along with others and how to feel when things happen.  She’ll grow up to be great just like you. Give him permission to quietly come tell you when he’s had enough.  He just might never complain again!