Clash of the Extrovert and Introvert Siblings

Summary

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Q: My 10- and 6-year-old daughters play together frequently and well. Sometimes, however, the older one - my introvert - just wants to read or be by herself. The 6-year-old - my extrovert - has difficulty accepting this and will go into her sister's room every five minutes or so and ask her to stop what she's doing and play. If her sister refuses, she becomes very demanding. If big sis still refuses, she begins to yell and cry, at which point I have to stop what I'm doing and get involved. I've explained that big sis's job is not to be her constant playmate, but this has gotten me nowhere. Do you have any creative ideas for handling this problem?

A: Perhaps. Let's begin this problem-solving exercise by determining what the problem is NOT. First, it is not that your older daughter doesn't always want to play with her sister. After all, she has every right to take a break from playing and do something on her own. Likewise, the problem is not that your younger daughter wants her older sister to play with her. In and of itself, that's not unreasonable.

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Clash of the Extrovert and Introvert Siblings

The problem is two-fold: first, younger daughter, being an extrovert, doesn't understand why her older sister sometimes ...

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