My Daughter Threw a Cookie Jar at Her Four-Year-Old Brother—Then I Saw the Drawing She Had Been Hiding From Me
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Chapter 13 / 15
Chapter 13 - Brielle Learned That Jealousy Was Information, Not Permission
Brielle never stopped feeling jealous completely.
That would have been unrealistic.
Sometimes Toby climbed into Heather’s lap and Brielle’s face changed.
Sometimes he got praise for things Brielle found childish.
Sometimes Heather spent entire evenings handling four-year-old problems while fourteen-year-old problems waited.
But Brielle learned to say it.
“I’m jealous.”
Not:
“I hate him.”
Not:
“You love him more.”
Just:
“I need time too.”
The first time she said it directly, Heather answered:
“Thank you for telling me before it became something bigger.”
That mattered.
Emotion was no longer treated as misconduct.
Behavior still had boundaries.
Jealousy could be spoken.
Throwing objects could not.
May you like
Both children learned the distinction.
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