Take your corners.

As I peeled Hudson off of Tucker for the sixth time today, it became clear that we have entered a new phase in the Harris Household. Dawning is the age of roughhousing, throw downs, and general sibling bruisings. The era of beating your brother up has arrived. And I am not looking forward to it one little bit.
Tucker is now mobile enough to get to anything of Hudson's that he wants. Naturally, Hudson hates this, which I get, but not every toy can be "special" enough not to share with your sibling. Then, to add to the problem, Tucker shows his love and respect for people right now by smacking them on the head, on the leg, on the face. To Hudson this is the same as hitting, which of course he is not, but logic and reason do not reside in the brain of the three-four year old brain. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to explain to Hudson that his hugs are too rough, his high-five too strong, and his general touches too toddler for his baby brother.
I most earnestly do not want to play the role of referee for the next seventeen years.  I don't want to do it! I do not want to be the mediator between these two. I so wish I could figure out a way to teach them now how to deal with this crap so I am not in this position.
Here is the problem in a nutshell: I naturally feel that it is my top priority to take protect little Tucker, but to do so and still salvage the ego of his big brother is a delicate balance I can not find.
I once read an article that you should put the entire happiness of the littlest child as the oldest's responsibility. If there were tears, the oldest was to blame. They were to be the keeper of the peace. Being the oldest myself, I find this whole theory quite flawed. My baby brother bruised like a peach and if it had been completely on me to keep him happy I would have had my first ulcer before the third grade. Not to mention, I don't know how such a rationale who corrupt a person. Being a people pleaser is one thing, being raised that everyone's happiness was YOUR problem is another thing.
There has to be a happy medium between this and just letting them both end up in casts this year. Good thing we went for that high deductible.