Older DS encouraging younger DS to do things he shouldn't

[Nosy]

Help me come up with a creative way to deal with this! Lately older DS (age 4.5) is having a great time encouraging his brother (age 2) to do things he shouldn't. Lately dinner is full of "hey brother, put macaroni and cheese in your hair", "hey brother, bang your metal spoon on your metal plate and make lots of noise," hey brother, throw your food on the floor." Younger DS thinks this is a riot and complies with his brother's wishes. I've tried various discussions with older DS about why this is not ok with me, but I've not been successful. Help!

[skreader]

I'd try a 2-prong approach

1) Try to enlist Older Brother (OB) to get Younger Brother (YB) to do things you'd like him to do? Like "Hey, YB, wipe your mouth nicely" or "Hey YB, carry your plate to the sink without dropping it". Or, if OB likes to get YB to do "silly" stuff - maybe see if he wants create an "act" to entertain you after Dinner, where he and YB can PRETEND do all sorts of very silly things like rubbing macaroni in hair.

2) Let OB know that leading YB into "trouble" is (as they say) Not Acceptable and if he does it again, he must first of all clean up the mess that YB has made by listening to him.

Plus, I suggest you let him know that trying to get YB to do things like throw food will mean that OB must... leave the table and eat late by himself / go to his room for 1 minute / lose out on a treat/ whatever discipline thing you favor...

Originally Posted by Nosy

Help me come up with a creative way to deal with this! Lately older DS (age 4.5) is having a great time encouraging his brother (age 2) to do things he shouldn't. Lately dinner is full of "hey brother, put macaroni and cheese in your hair", "hey brother, bang your metal spoon on your metal plate and make lots of noise," hey brother, throw your food on the floor." Younger DS thinks this is a riot and complies with his brother's wishes. I've tried various discussions with older DS about why this is not ok with me, but I've not been successful. Help!

[Tdunahoo]

I second the idea of making OB pick up after YB. I'm sure after once or twice he'll stop the negative encouragement