I Am Not Going to Be Your Brother Anymore

These words are said in our house on a daily basis – ironically by Avery and directed at anyone (including me) who crosses her path, tells her no or makes a decision not in her favor (i.e. baseball highlights over Dora). We are guessing that at some point in time (during their typical sibling squabbling) Alex must have spoken these words to his younger sister, yet now Avery assumes it is the universal catch phrase for … I don’t like your choice and I am not going to speak to you anymore.

Unfortunately, Avery usually lets out a “I am not going to be your brother” while on her way to the time out couch for throwing apple sauce across the kitchen or while sitting in her room after hitting Alex in the head with a fire truck. So correcting her mindset (that she thinks she is being punished for no reason) is usually more important than correcting the actual meaning in her verbal response. She first needs to know that you don’t use a toy as a weapon, and if you do, you are going to be in trouble. Once she has learned that (and has turned 18), I will then willingly teach her how to properly say, “you pissed me off and I don’t want to a part of the family,” and in which context to use it.