Michael, at 7, is a bundle of energy. An absolute scream and a true extrovert. Our daughter Kamryn (pictured to your left) just adores her older brothers.
Andrew, our 14 year old, is EXCELLENT with her. Gentle, caring, and has no problem guiding her around. He sees her as a little sister.
Michael, on the other hand, sees her as a playmate. She loves it but she's getting bruised in the process. She tries to run to catch him but falls in a heap every time. She also runs away from him with the same result.
He thinks it's funny as she screeches in glee, which it is, but he also thinks it's funny when she has a wipe out. NOT when she gets hurt, mind you, he's actually a very doting older brother, but he thinks it's funny when she can't keep up with him.
We've explained that he needs to wait a few years until she has her legs and balance beneath her but it's not sinking in.
We love the interaction and the bond these two have, but we're going insane constantly policing the level of play.
We plan on just continuing our path of explaining that she isn't ready to rumble and tumble yet, regardless of how funny it may be, but we're curious to know if there are other ideas out there.
7 yr old is a bit too rough with our 1 yr old
