Being a momma of four isn’t always easy. I have had to learn how to diffuse lots of different situations in my house. One of the biggest issues in our house is sibling fights/arguments. If you are a mom of multiples, you know what I’m talking about. “Moooommmmmmmm, he is looking at me! Mommmmmmmmmmm, he has my toy! Mommmmmmmm, she is in my room!” If you don’t hear these things constantly, please teach me your ways! So, over the last four and a half years, I have had some time to get creative. When things start getting heated in our house, there a few things that I do to help distract everyone, and maybe even get them to do something TOGETHER!
Dance Party::
This one is my favorite! I love music and dancing and I have danced with all of my kids since birth. When we have our dance parties in the kitchen(usually while I’m cooking), I put on Pandora and we dance and sing. We have a music bucket in our living room that is full of play musical instruments-we have two guitars, a keyboard, a tambourine, and a microphone. When our dance party happens in the living room, the kids “play” their instruments. We have somewhat of a playlist for our living room dance parties. This list includes, but is not limited to: Who Let The Dogs Out, Eye of The Tiger, Way Maker, Good Morning Song, Sweet Potato, All About That Bass, Wooly Bully, We Will Rock You, Come on Ride the Train, and Boom Boom Pow.
Helping Mom Cook::
This does not need to be anything extravagant. Usually, when I use this as my distractor, we make cookies or muffins. I buy the muffin mix packs from the store, that all you have to do is add milk and there are also cookie mixes that are just as simple. Other times, I just have one or two kids come and sit at the bar while I prepare vegetables and such for dinner. These are great ways to include kids without a huge mess or anything too complicated. Give it a try!
Netflix and Chill::
Now this one means something a little different when it comes to children. There is ACTUAL chilling that goes along with doing this. I sit them all down with their own space and blanket (usually) and then I put on a show that I know will catch their attention. Some of the shows I will list are from Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney+, or PBS kids. My “go-to” list includes Bluey, Stinky and Dirty, Daniel Tiger, Number Blocks, Word World, Trash Truck, Wild Kratts, or Octonauts.
Exercise/Outside Time::
Sometimes when everyone is at each other’s throats, I send them all outside to run laps around the house. I make it a competition, and everyone joins willingly. Usually, it starts with racing around the porch and it ends with everyone playing outside independently. They find their bikes or play in the rocks. Everyone gets sunshine and moods improve just that quick. We also take golf cart rides to help break up our normal everyday routines.
YouTube and Alexa::
I let the kids take turns with the remote and they are able to tell Alexa what they want to watch on YouTube. We have found many funny things by doing this. Our Alexa list usually ends in farting sounds, but hey…everyone is usually laughing with each other instead of yelling at each other. It’s a win in my book! Fun things we have found that you may want to search: “Everybody Farts” song, “Herman The Worm” song, Jack Hartman’s “Count to 100 by One’s, “Eddie The Eagle’s Gun Safety” song, “Story Bots Planet” song, and “Pop See Ko.”
Bath::
This one holds ALLLL the power. If you cannot turn moods around, try a middle-of-the-day bath. This one is foolproof. Fill the tub with some water and bubbles, if you want to get real crazy-put a water-color changing tablet in there too. Round up all your “fine china” and by that I mean your best plastic cups from the last parade you went to, get them some plastic spoons, and watch the fighting melt down the drain! I guarantee that you will get different children out of the tub than the ones you put in there. And if you’re feeling real fancy, put on “Toddler Dance Radio” on Pandora. Game. Changer! 
Tell us what tricks you use at your house to help with sibling fighting. We would love to hear from you!
