It's the hood

Even after all the fights, grabbing of toys, inaccurate accusations, tears and such, the hood is still very much intact. Brother, sister, the bonds of love are strong and will (hopefully) grow stronger each day as they learn to tolerate each other, compete fairly and collaborate effectively.

It's amazing how young children can so quickly and easily forget wrongs that have been done against themselves, given the right environment and nurturing. The tears can suddenly stop and friendships instantly restored, bumps and bruises kissed away.

Forgiveness seems to be something inherent in a new-born baby. Maybe nature has granted it to us as part of the ability to survive in a social context. He who holds grudges cannot move forward.

Shannon is the fiery one who screams and shouts when Nigel grabs a toy which he owns. But Shannon has learnt how to deal with this and related disappointments by quickly dropping the toy (to avoid confrontation and physical injury) and diverting her attention to another toy (to avoid personal disappointment). Nigel has learnt to take another toy as an exchange gift in order to increase the chances of acceptance and lower the risk of a conflict.