Silly boys in the evenings

One ongoing struggle is often around dinner and bedtime routine-times with my very energetic 8 and almost 6 year old boys. They get sooooo silly and (dare I say) obnoxious. I have a really hard time knowing how much to correct this behavior because I often justify it as "normal" child-like behavior. However, it feels so childish and quite annoying to me (and I suspect it would be to most adults/older children as well). The behaviors include immature jokes (sometimes potty humor about body parts or body functions which they know is a no-answer), poking/touching each other, and just laughing at what seems like nothing at all. I do correct the clear no answers, but there are some nuanced behaviors that are annoying to me, but not clear no answers and I don't know how to correct it I think. Dinner and bedtimes, I often find myself more irritated with them than enjoying their company and building our relationship. My husband is still at work during dinner times during the week, so it is also a time I am usually worn down from a long day with children and this may contribute to my difficulty maintaining calm and clear-minded during this time as well. I think because dinner time can also be chaotic for me, when we are getting hangry 😉 and I am trying to figure out dinner plans/making the meal, and more, I find my brain is not as able to handle behaviors that come up and address them right away. So it just seems to be a time we all struggle. Any suggestions?

Login

Login