Meeting Your Kids' Needs

How do you mesh the needs of a prepubescent 11yo girl (S), a highly physical 12.5yo boy (G), and an imaginative 8yo boy (T)? We just had yet another of our "talks," which we've all tired of over the years. That's not to say that they're not valuable, or that they're not needed or even wanted. It's just that we've talked things over SO many times that often it's the same ol' BTDT thing.

When S is feeling hormonal, she bites anyone's head off if they get in her space. The problem is, no one knows when that will happen! So the boys walk around her on eggshells, and if T asks her to play, he never knows if he's going to find a willing partner or a end up with a disembodied head. Our solution was that S's room would be her sanctuary. If she's in her room, anyone who approaches does so at their own risk. 

To that end, I made her a sign she can put on her door when she's feeling, let's say, uncommunicative.

We always come away from these talks feeling more connected, so in the long run we all find them worthwhile. Sometimes, just sometimes, I wish they could have these talks without a mediator!