Just this past week I was meeting with one of my small groups and a parent of 4 and 7 year olds was telling how her kids were driving her crazy always wanting to be "first". It didn't matter what it was -- getting into the car, helping mommy fold socks, going through a door, blowing their noise... there was always a BATTLE! Both kids always wanted to be FIRST and arguing would ensue.
The mom knew about Energy Drain and was using it but she wanted to avoid getting to the battle zone altogether. How???
We were in luck!! Two moms had dealt with the same problem. One mom of twins had assigned each twin "FIRST" privileges by week -- one week was Sally and the next week was Jane. Perfect! No more fighting. Another mom who had challenges with elevator buttons and who pushed them divided things up with one son getting to push when they were going UP in an elevator and the other pushed buttons when going DOWN.
Coming up with creative solutions to annoying problems can be so hard when we are tired and irritable. If you have a problem that is happening over and over again I'd encourage you to get together with friends, preferably who know about L&L, and brainstorm. Parenting can feel so lonely and frustrating so please feel free to reach out. You can also email me at mary@parentingwithlogic.com and I'm usually good for an idea or two!