While reading to K this evening without Y (he slept early as he skipped his nap) a book about families, K suddenly said "I don't like Y." I looked at him but he changed the topic quickly about his fears for Elmo. I didn't pursue further.
After our stories time and our goodnight hug and kiss, I told him,
"We are family. Y is your brother. Sometimes we fight....."
Before I could even finish my sentence, he said,
"Sometimes you don't snatch the roller brush away when I'm playing with it."
I was very stunned with his response. I wasn't expecting this from a barely 3 years old. I realized he was still angry with his brother over the brush fighting incident earlier in the afternoon. I continued,
Me: "are you angry with Y for snatching your roller brush this afternoon?"
K: "Yes"
Me: "Will you forgive him"
He looked away.
Me: "Y was wrong to snatch your brush. He should have asked for your permission first. We all make mistakes, will you forgive him?"
He finally nodded his head and I tucked him in for bed.
I'm happy K was able to express his feelings to me but I feel I'm a bad mediator. I wonder how I'm going to handle such expressions of strong feelings in future. One second hatred and bites, the next moment love and hugs, a lot more to come.
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