It is rare that I pull out any sort of game for the kids to play. Whether it be Chutes N'Ladders, Candy Land, or Memory the game always seems to end in me breaking up a big fight. The frequent complaints are: "Ava was cheating!" "Anthony is not playing right!" or "Lucas is crying!" It all just drives me wild and I just don't want to deal with it, so this is why I tend to not offer these games up for something to do to pass time.
Well, today was a crazy day, we had all been in the house since noon on Friday, and Cabin fever was slowly setting in. The kids were tired of cartoons, video games, playing legos, Star Wars guys... you get the idea. So I did what I do not like to do unless in emergency situations - I opened up the cabinet that holds all of our board games, puzzles, and craft stuff and told the kids to pick out something to play.
Ava immediately went for Memory, and surprisingly enough Lucas and Anthony did not object. Wow. This was a good start - maybe we could get through a whole game start to finish without a fight.
Wishful thinking, right?
To my delight, Livi Grace was sitting peacefully chewing on some memory cards that the kids decided not to add to their game play. She was oblivious to what was about to unfold just a few feet away from her where her sister and brothers were playing a rousing game of Memory.
I braced myself as they got their game underway, and of course it started....
We were not 5 minutes into the game when Ava ripped a card out of Anthony's hand and started yelling that Anthony was not playing right. Which in turn, resulted in Anthony starting to cry.
Her observations were correct - when I looked over to see what Anthony was doing he was simply picking up every card trying to find the match for the bike. Obviously not the right way to play, but he is not even 3 yet so what does she expect. Well, she is only 6 so I can see why she does not understand that he is not old enough to understand how to play.
Is your head spinning yet?
Then Ava decided to skip Lucas's turn and go in his place. Lucas, in turn started crying.
As you have probably noticed from my commentary, Ava is not the most patient 6 year old on the planet - she can't wait for Anthony and Lucas to go before it is her turn again. This is simply too much waiting for her so she tends to decide when she wants her turn and takes it.
This is when I threw in the towel and ended the game, as always. Finally, to round it all out, Ava started crying.
So much for thinking we could get through an entire game without a melt down or a fight.
Maybe next time, right? I can always hope...
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