Making brothers friends by working together

Don't ever underestimate the power of work.
Our boys doing projects together has brought more
unity than anything I could have taught.
Letting our older boys be "in charge" teaches our younger boys
to be under authority.
This is where training the oldest is so important.
You cannot put a younger child with an older one if you can't trust him
to lead in the right direction. I know you have heard the sermon
"Why satan wants your first born."
If you let your oldest ones be lazy and complaining how will your younger ones be any different?
If your older ones complain about your authority and complain about the job being done
I would not place any younger child under his authority. This attitude will effect your younger ones.
You want your older child to be respectful and a good influence.

Tucker is great with the younger ones, but he has had to be taught to be patient
and mindful of their age.
This is not always a fun thing to watch moms.
These are boys and the way I would want it done or dreamed of it being done never
happens, buttttt I'm not the one in charge, Tuck is.
If Coop comes to me and says "Mom Tucker wont let me pour the water"
I always try and be on the side of the one in charge..I'll say "Go talk to Tucker about it."
Their whole life is going to be filled with people not letting them get to do the 'fun' thing....
We can't and shouldn't fix it all. Don't make victims of them..Let them rise to the occasion instead of feeling sorry for themselves.
If I see a true injustice and it's Tucker's fault I will usually bring him aside and remind him
to be as fair as possible because he is trying to build a friendship. I will then give some ideas on how to fix the problem.

The end result is always something beautiful.