i've always heard that consistency is the best way to deal with children, so i try to incorporate that into my work. i always open and close storytime with the same songs. i keep to a certain format during creative movement classes. and i try to apply fairness when telling them all to stop misbehaving for goodness sakes.

then, yesterday, i realized that it was all for naught. we simply can't avoid giving kids conflicting messages.

while the mothers are creating their crafts in mommy and me crafts classes (yesterday it was beaded purses), i walk around and try to promote fairness among the playing children. this means mostly keeping them from using the toys as weapons and preventing them from ripping toys out of another child's hands while saying "MINE!".

there are two or three children in particular who have a hard time with this concept. one of them is a four year old who should know better and who told me to "watch it!!" when he bumped in to me. another is a little girl who gets in to everything.

at one point, after having settled yet another screaming "mine!!!" fight, i noticed that the little girl had appropriated herself of my keychain. i walked over, extricated it from her hands and said "no, no, no." the little boy was instantly at my side.

"she was playing with that!" he informed me.

and, believe it or not, i justified my actions by saying: "it's mine."