One of the most amazing things I think there is about raising kids is watching them learn things.  I was always interested in those TV shows where an alien came to earth in human form. It was fascinating to watch them discover all of the things that exist that we take for granted.  Watching my kids learn about things is just as fascinating to me.  They are like those aliens that don’t know about anything and have to learn it all.

One of the most challenging concepts to both of them at this point is the difference between all of the various coins.  So they call them all pennies. 

The other day we had one of our typical sister arguments which started with Vera picking up a “penny” from the floor.  I was in another room and did not witness the event.  AJ (who typical reacts very emotionally to everything and can’t start with a calm request) immediately yells “Mommy, Vera took my penny”.  I tell Vera to return the penny.  I am getting ready for work so can’t moderate the issue at that point.  AJ tells me that she didn’t give it back and I tell her to get ready for school and I will work it out when I am done.  Surprisingly she does this with very little argument.

AJ reminds be about the penny a little while later, knowing that they struggle with types of coins and names I ask AJ if it was a penny or not.  She isn’t sure so I ask her to show me a coin like it.  She brings me a quarter.  Now I am not sure if that is because it was really a quarter or because she knows that the quarter is worth the most.  So I ask again and this time she tells me it was really a penny.

I ask Vera about it and she says that the penny was on her floor not AJ’s. I confront them both since one of them has to be telling a fib because the penny could not have been in both floors.

(The house rules are that you are not allowed to blame others.  If I asked who did something and it wasn’t you, I expect you to remain silent.  I should only get a response from the child who did it.  I got very tired of the blame game where they both consistently insisted that the other child did whatever was being addressed.)

As they both start saying “not me” or “it was —–” I remind them of the rule and let them know that I will get the penny out of Vera’s room and keep it if the person who is telling the fib doesn’t admit to it.  It only take a couple of beats before Vera says “It’s me.  It was in AJ’s floor.”  This was a very proud moment as I felt victory that hopefully these are life lessons and as they grow older they will remember that they shouldn’t blame others and should admit when they have made a mistake or done something wrong.

Now, the question comes back to exactly what kind of coin it was that was taken.  So I get one of each type from my wallet and lay them on the kitchen table.  I ask Vera to tell me which one she took and she points to the Quarter!  AJ was right the first time.

I retrieve the quarter from Vera’s room and return it to AJ.  Problem solved, at least for the moment.