You may not stab your brother.

Its Tax Season!!!!!!  Woo Hoo!  Which means I am busy working, schooling, and trying to keep the house from falling down around my ears and everyone else's.  The other night I hear screaming from my dear sweet children who are supposed to be getting ready for bed. At first I think the youngest has yet again gone after the middle child in a fit of frustration and antagonism.  He battles between the two quite often. Then he becomes dramatic and everything is someone else's fault.

I walked in the room and started asking questions.

What is going on in here? (I see the middle child has red marks around his neck.)  I look at my youngests sweet cherub face and ask, why are you crying? It looks like you tried to strangle your brother not the other way around.

A:  He pointed a knife at me! (Well.  Hum. Crap.)

What?

A: (Through a mangled voice of unable to vocalize his issue and hiccups from crying) Corbin pointed a knife at me so blakadfkjdfljsa;fjasldkjf.  

Okay you go sit with Diego while I try to figure this out.  A. How did a child get a knife? B. What was he thinking?  C. How again did this happen?

Mr. Corbin what did you do? (As I find the weapon, not really a knife thank god!)

C:  I said I was sorry.

Did you point this at your brother and threaten him?  

C: Yeah but I said I was sorry.  I just wanted him to stop.

Do you know what you did wrong?

C:  Yeah, I did something you don't want me to do.

No, what did you do?

C: Well that's all I have for you. I got nothin else.

You cannot! CANNOT! Use weapons of any kind, play or not, to make people stop! (Flashes of him in orange are coming into my mind.) You cannot hit or kick people to make them stop doing something either.  Got it?

C:  Yeah. No using weapons, fists, or feet to make people stop annoying me.

Right.

Okay you have lost this toy and now you can finish getting ready for bed and get in bed.

He sadly walked away perseverating on if he would ever get his prized item returned to him. The answer to that question is probably not but a kid can always hope.  

Back to work.