by Carmen Colin

Created on: January 10, 2009

As the oldest daughter of my parents, I am held up to high expectations. I have 3 younger sisters and a baby brother. I know how to deal with them, but when I have to watch them, there are a couple of things to do to keep them entertained. The only way to keep them entertained is if I actually sit down and play with them. Although they are 1, 7, 8 and 13, it can be fun to play checkers with them or play a game.

1) Play house- I know it sounds weird, but its actually really fun. Since the 2 beds in my bedroom are close together, we put a blanket large enough on the edges of the bed. To keep the blanket on the edges, we put heavy books on top of them. Then we put blankets and pillows in there, eat cookies and ice cream, thus, we play house. I know it sounds "different" for a mature teen to play house, but its actually very fun.

2) Play a board game- Even if you don't want to let your younger siblings beat you at a simple "Monopoly" or checkers game, its pretty fun to play with them. They'll actually be entertained for a long period of time.

3) Pretend you are interviewing them for jobs- This is not only fun for them, but as I have played this, its also fun for me. I ask them typical questions, as if I was looking for someone to hire. I also pretend to take pictures of them.

4) Teach them- As you pretend to be a teacher, you really don't understand that you actually are teaching them. Whether you teach them something new or help them review, this is a good time for you to understand how they learn. Then, when you aren't playing with them, they actually ask you more for help. When this happened to me, I felt proud to know that I was not only helping them, but they were trusting me.

5) Play outside- There are a few ways to play and have fun with your sisters. You can each make up a "treasure map" and hide something that can be used as a reward. Then you can use the other maps so you don't run out of fun. Actually, I hide something like candy for example. Nobody else knows where the candy is. I give them one clue as to where it might be. Then the one who finds the candy gets to hide something else, and so on and so forth. Another thing to do outside is play with a Frisbee and throw it to each other. Lastly, we go on bike rides, or we collect almonds from the "mini" trail by our house.

Its very fun to play with my younger sisters. I might have tons of world history or geometry homework, but when I put 20 minutes to play with them, I am less stressed from having the huge stack of homework. If it piles up, then so be it, but I know that I must spend some time with my sisters to build on to our trust, friendship and love.

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