The Trouble with Brothers

The trouble with brothers is that they have too much testosterone. Even at a very young age the average male child is more aggressive than the average female child. Viva will testify to this. It's not unusual for her to be knocked over at least three times during the day by her brother Bentley.

Sometimes she's the victim of too much boyish energy. Other times her actions annoy him--she gets too close to his pile of books or puzzles or toys--and so he rather overzealously pushes her away. Once in a while she's the random target of his...frustration? love? joy de'vivre?

Now that Jake is ambulatory, Viva is his victim, too. If she has something he wants, he comes over and takes it. He's stronger than she is (a bonus side effect of testosterone), so five out of six times he's the victor. At least until a sympathetic adult rights the wrong. He usually goes back for what he wants, so it's short-lived justice.

Here's an example of the type of aggressive behavior I'm referring to. Viva goes into the kitchen and digs out a bag of gold fish from the cupboard.


Jake sees Viva has something interesting. He tackles her.


He gets the prize.


I took the bag from him three times and returned it to Viva. The result? She was tackled three times more. Justice isn't always pleasant.