Tom and his younger sister were fighting. Their mother was tired of the fighting and decided to punish them by making them stand on the same piece of newspaper in such a way that they couldn't touch each other. How did she accomplish this?

“Tom and his sister stand on opposite ends of the newspaper”

This wouldn't prevent them from touching each other, as they would still be on the same piece of newspaper.

“Tom and his sister stand on the same side of the newspaper”

If they are on the same side, they can easily touch each other, which contradicts the mother's intention to keep them apart.

“Tom's mother simply separated them in different rooms”

This solution doesn't utilize the newspaper at all and doesn't fit the context of the riddle where the newspaper is specifically mentioned.