Do unto others... blah, blah, blah

I grew up with the saying 'Do unto others, as you would want to be treated'. I grew up with 'Don't hit back', 'come and tell mom before taking it into your own hands'.  Blah, blah, blah...

Here's my change in parenting. Isaac hits Ethan. Ethan hits back. Isaac comes in and tells me that Ethan hit him. Ethan runs in saying that Isaac hit first. Usually I would have been mad at Ethan for hitting Isaac back, but I let it slide. I tell both the boys they are even and go play. Isaac gets mad because he thought that Ethan wasn't allowed to hit back. I tell Isaac that Ethan can hit back and that he should think about that the next time he wants to hit Ethan.

Parenting lesson complete!