I know lots of kids home from college are bored at home, but I am pulling my hair out. S1 and S2 are just bickering, poking, fighting nonstop!
At least I get to go back to work tomorrow…I hope the house is standing when I get home! Anyone else feeling under seige?
I sent one daughter to Cambodia. That’s just about enough distance to keep the bickering down.
I would take more communication, even if it were bickering! When my S comes home from college, where he works really hard, all he wants to do is hang out and play his guitar and his video games. Hours go by and I don’t see him or hear from him! He doesn’t seem to get bored with all that decompressing, I’ll give him that. But it would be nice to interact more, even at the risk of arguing! And with his sister living on her own in a different city, no opportunity for sibling bickering. Again, would risk the bickering to have her here!
My oldest is working two jobs… no time for bickering 
When I came home from college, I worked three jobs to get my tuition money for January. My son would be home for five weeks, sofa surfing. Now, he works across the country, and I am lucky to have him home for a week. Not enough time. Boy, that boy can eat. I haven’t run the dishwasher and bought this much food in the last six months, not to mention the washing machine.
After his freshman year with a month spent doing nothing, he’s been going back to his internship at break. Making $ beats just hanging out, even if he loses out on sleeping until noon! He’s fortunate that’s an option though. In the future, might be worth looking into short online classes they can take while home… my son’s school has several of those offered. They start Dec 26 and end a few days before they go back
Justgraduate, wow, your son is very fortunate to have that! I know my son would have loved that opportunity. With a master’s degree, he’s working a low paying job to get the experience he never could find while in undergraduate. Very proud of him for doing that, though, as I know others would rather sofa surf than lower themselves to take low pay.
One year I sent two of mine to a “time-out” space and told them they couldn’t rejoin the festivities till they had hugged it out and made up. Since then, they haven’t fussed …or at least not in front of me.
I’ll take every single second I can get with my only child, I don’t care WHAT the quality of the interaction.
Sophomore D seems rather bored and antsy. She is doing well on accomplishing the things on her to-do list, but seems agitated until each of her daily goals is done.
H…needs to go back to work Every year I beg him to schedule his vacation during the summer, when he could easily keep himself busy.
I work from home much of the time, and like my calm, steady pace and quiet office. I felt like the Christmas Grinch for wanting it back.
Yeah, kind of describes my S. I think he is happy to be home and decompressing, but I think he also gets cabin fever, too. Part of it is his own doing (he basically has no interest in learning to drive, and we live in an area where you have to drive to get to things). The other problem is he may be enjoying himself, but goes off on his own a lot, I have our desktop in our tv room he uses, or he will be on his phone and whatnot. Doesn’t help my wife is under the weather, she has a really bad cold and it has her knocked out.
Give the kids the task of making dinner. That will keep them busy and productive.
Thanks all. Glad I’m not alone. I know it sounds terrible, but anyone who has 2 kids close enough in age to have a “bicker-fest/poking/fistfight emerging-drama” understands. I’m sure in 10 years I will have forgotten it all;)
@HRSMom - Can you put them to work on collaborative chores? There must be gutters to clean or junk to be hauled or a room that needs painting. Even if it doesn’t help them get along better, at least you’ll get something out of it.
The younger one is supposed to be making up about 3 weeks homework (related thread in that), so I just need older one to leave him alone:)
@ChoatieMom, that is the thing – you just have one. Love my two to death,but they have been AWFUL this week. 
And both have colds (and are sharing a bedroom at my current place).
Let’s see – they have argued over what game to play after dinner, whose college mom (me) likes best, whose major mom (me) likes best, when to get up, when to shut down computers and go to sleep, whether youngest should still get help from me to pick health insurance, who actually ate the last chocolate from a box given to me as a gift (hint: I did not get the last one), what to have for dessert on Christmas, what movie to go to, and where to hang the ornaments on the tree. Older one gets annoyed at younger one’s lack of independence, younger one HATES being bossed around. They were similar on vacation this summer. It is a fairly new thing for them… not sure of the cause or the solution. But it is making me crazy.
LOL, sorry you’ve made me chuckle.
This,too, shall pass. But it really is a hassle isn’t it?
This thread is a perfect ad for birth control. 
Yes, no one tells you they aren’t cute and don’t smell sweet when the get older!!
Our D was very weepy that her brother’s gift giving didn’t show as much thought, sensitivity and insight as she had hoped from him. They talked it out and have made their peace. Otherwise they’ve been getting along ok, but they are 27 and 29 years old. They used to have “sword fights” with the rolls from wrapping paper, sometimes involving broken Rx glasses!