blogger profile

Alamb

Author/Television Reporter

Amanda Lamb is a professional television journalist and author. She covers murder trials by day and reads Dora the Explorer to her children at night. Somewhere in between all of that she writes about those parenting moments that catch each us off-guard in a crazy, chaotic, and wonderful way. Aman...

READ MORE

The Green Monster

Amanda Lamb

“I don’t like my sister, she gets everything,” my seven-year-old announces from the backseat of the car.  She wants to be heard over her sister’s DVD player which is blaring “A Sponge Bob Christmas.”  She is annoyed because she has chosen this particular moment to read us a story aloud and for some reason can’t wait for the movie to end.

Just a few hours earlier when I pulled my older daughter in close and gave her a kiss on the top of her head my little one stomped off saying:  “Why are you giving her so much attention?  Why don’t you kiss me.  It is not fair.”

You can’t win when it comes to showing equal attention all of the time to two siblings.  It is impossible.  Yet I’m keenly aware of how jealous they get, so I try to spread the love and attention around as much as I can.  Still, someone always feels left out and gets pissed off.

“You always comfort her when she cries Mommy.  You never do that to me,” my oldest wails.  This is patently untrue.  I remind her that she is older and that I have, in fact, comforted her for many more years than I have comforted her sister.

 My youngest insists that she is my “favorite” even though I tell her that I love her and her sister equally.  Yet, she will often tell her older sister that she is “the most loved” in the family just to get her goat, and it does.

I didn’t have a sister growing up, so this is all new territory to me.  I also have one child who gives and accepts love more freely than the other one does, so I have to be careful to spread the wealth as equally as I can.   

Most of the time I just throw my hands up and tell them to work it out.  Sisters will be jealous of one another, this is a fact.  For now the competition is over my affection and attention.  Someday, it will be over things like looks, grades, talent, and God-forbid- boys.  I will do the best i can to love them equally, praise them equally and support them equally.  And when the fire-breathing green monster rears his ugly head in our house I will try to ignore him the best I can.