Dinosaur Stuffed Animals

My niece and my nephew have different tastes, but still manage to be bad at sharing their toys. If my niece asks for a doll, for example, and my nephew asks for a toy car, I will usually get them both what they want, only to find out that the niece tries to steal the nephew's car or the nephew, the niece's doll before I even leave. After witnessing a couple of their fights, I resolved to get them the same toys next Christmas so there would be no jealousy. I had to think of something that would cater to both of them; it had to be tough enough for a little boy's playtime, yet soft and sweet enough for a little girl. I finally decided to get both of them dinosaur stuffed animals.

Although neither of them had asked for dinosaur stuffed animals before, dinosaurs were a subject that interested both of them. I had taken both to the Chicago natural history museum when they came to visit me, and both had liked the dinosaurs. My nephew had been fascinated by the massive teeth and powerful jaws of the Tyrannosaurus Rex, and my niece had liked one of the dioramas of the smaller dinosaurs creating a nest for its eggs. The logical thing to do, of course, would have been to get them each a different dinosaur stuffed animal: a Tyrannosaurus for the boy and one of the smaller, more peaceful dinosaurs for the girl. I ultimately decided against this, however. Getting them different dinosaur toys would provoke jealousy, and each would fight for his sibling's toy.

Instead, I got each kid two small dinosaur stuffed animals: a carnivorous velociraptor and a herbivorous stegosaurus. They were both pleased to have not just one dinosaur plush toy, but two. Within minutes, however, each was eying the other's toys suspiciously, wondering how to tell the two sets of dinosaurs apart. I helped them fashion collars out of small pieces of felt left over from an earlier craft project, and in a few minute, each dinosaur had a tag saying its name and its owners. I was almost sure that my strategy had worked, and indeed they spent the rest of the time playing peacefully with their dinosaur stuffed animals. As I later found out from my sister, however, my strategy didn't keep the peace for long; soon after I left, one of the kids wanted to make a larger dinosaur family, and soon they were fighting over the toys as usual. It just goes to show you, sometimes there's nothing that can stop difficult children. At least they like their presents!