Lisa says: Two mommies in the house

There are benefits to having/being an older sibling — I know, since I'm the oldest sibling in my family, and obviously have more than one kid in the house. I'd like to think that when my sisters came along, I helped my parents with them, even if only by keeping them occupied while my mom washed the kitchen floor, or tattling on them when they were misbehaving. I know I was of some use when we were all in school. (Guess who helped with and edited English papers and essays?)

Anyway, my Mini Me has been a little too Mini Me lately. In fact, sometimes I feel like I'm competing for my job with my kid. Don't get me wrong; Addy is a great help with Peyps — she watches our little monster when she's near the top of the stairs, makes sure she keeps her hat on when we're outside, reminds her to cover her little mouth when she coughs, helps her reach her cup of water if it's pushed too far back on the counter, etc. Frankly, we like the help, and I don't mind sharing these "mommy"-type responsibilities with Addy.

Here's the but: Addy has recently started asserting her older-sibling-Mini-Me status by attempting to discipline her sister. (If I had a loonie for the number of times I've said, "I'm the mommy here, Addy," in the last month or so, you know the rest.) Addy has reprimanded Peyps, she's threatened to take things away from her when her behaviour has been less-than lovely, and I'm pretty sure I've heard Addy tell her to go to the corner and stand there because she's a "bad girl."

While I appreciate the extra eye around here, me and Peter don't need a four-year-old parent in the house.

Does your oldest act like a mom or dad with her/his younger siblings? Do you let your big kid get away with disciplining your little kid?