Re: Teaching tolerance to children
My 3 are so close in age so I dont know if this is really applicable to the situation. But right from the start, we did everything together as a family. All 3 know even at their young ages that friends may come and go but brothers are brothers and friends for life and forever. If one gets invited to a classmates birthday party, he always asks if brothers can come and when told no they make sure to bring treats for their brothers from the party. Their teachers at school for the older 2 try to do recess at the same time so that they can see each other at playtime. I dont do too many "playdates" because I like them to play together to further cement their brotherly relationships.
Disagreements happen and thats ok...I step in when things get too heated and we've taught them to "use words, not hands" when settling disputes. And "cutting off" a family member is just not something in our vocabulary. Family is family for life, for good and for bad and we take care of each other.