Stone Soup by Jan Eliot for October 20, 2013

Max really isn’t old enough to be made responsible for a baby. Or to be shamed when he fails it.

If I were Joan I would be extremely worried that he isn’t talking yet.

Is this the first one from Max’s point of view?

Why doesn’t she give him a little guidance on how to play with his sister?

How about a game of Patty-Cake?

you can see that the baby clearly loves her bother and she is saying her version of bubba. I have a grand daughter that is 10 years younger than her brother and I know he loved sitting and playing with her when she was small. She is 8 now and he is 19 so not so much anymore but they still have their moments.

Max hasn’t learned that he isn’t the “baby” anymore. It’s kind of like payback. Alix was sent to play in the sandbox with Max once. He was throwing sand on her and when she did it back (much smaller scale, more like a flick) he cried and got her in trouble with her Aunt. “Alix, you should know better. He’s just a baby!” To which Alix thinks something like “you can’t win with a two year old.”

Can you say Autism?

The more I see Max, the more I am convinced that he is not a bad kid, he is Autistic. Does Jan have an Autistic kid in mind for Max?

I’m surprised Luci didn’t try to eat the toy car at her feet. But, then again, it’s a comic strip.

Sorry Max.

Huh? He’s just repeating what she’s saying back at her.

I learned as a mom that you don’t leave a four-year-old to keep her baby sister from rolling off the bed. By extension, you don’t leave a resentful three-year-old (?) to entertain his baby sister.

Luci was just trying to show her love for her brother. Max is just showing his frustration with her for not being able to play the way he does… ;)

When my younger was a baby and older was 2yo, then it was really easy to keep the younger entertained – just had to play something age-appropriate with the older one, and the younger would watch us, mouth open.