Question
Hi there. My husband and I have twin boys who will turn five years old at the end of October. Over the past few weeks, the competition between the two of them has really increased. I know that this is normal, but it seems that they fight over everything. Who gets up the stairs first. Who buckles are seat belt first. Who can play with this toy or who can play with that toy. The problem is, when they fight and get upset, they end up pitching a fit that usually lasts about half an hour. They both try to hurt themselves when they get frustrated. Hitting themselves, biting themselves, scratching off scabs so that they bleed. One of my boys fell off his bike last week and had stitches in his chin, and was just pitching a fit and threatened to hurt his chin again. We have tried to put them in timeout and leave them in their bedroom, but they are so destructive, that we are afraid to leave them unattended. This usually happens with each one of them, at least once or twice a day. It is emotionally and physically exhausting. Recently, I have tried to hold them while they are pitching a fit so that they do not hurt themselves. We do not know what to do. We have tried taking away toys, but that does not work. Any advice would be helpful! Thank you so much.
