7 Taming The Sibling Rivalry tips

QUESTION: How do you handle Sibling rivalry in your home? leave a comment and share your tips on taming sibling rivalry.

7 Taming The Sibling Rivalry tips
by: Trisha Novotny
www.247moms.com

Brothers and sisters don’t have to be absolute arch enemies to be dealing with sibling rivalry; in fact, bits and pieces of sibling rivalry pop out every day as normal behavior. What isn’t normal is when sibling rivalry interferes with or breaks down relationships. What’s important is how we, as parents, along with our children, deal with sibling rivalry.

1. Expect it don’t accept it – when it comes to sibling rivalry set very specific house rules about what behavior is acceptable and what is not. how you expect your kids to behave toward one another before arguments become a way of life.
Let your children know that aggression, physical fighting and name-calling are not tolerated in the family.


2. Ignore rivalry vs. address rivalry - Ignore the small rivalry moments such as toy squabbles, teach children to handle it themselves. Address the big ones such as the put-downs, or one child victimizing the other. In these situations, children need you to monitor put-downs. If you don't, you're not doing your job.

3. Create a Team - Teaching our kids that we are a team which means in order to function we have to know how to get a long, work together, play together , travel together and live together. There is low tolerance for Team mates who do not function as part of the team. Teams don’t succeeded and neither will families if they cant learn to be a team.

4. Promote empathy - Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." Help your children learn how to get behind the eyes of another person and think first how their behavior is going to affect that other person.
Kindness is key

5. No sides taken - Don't take sides with your children Finding out who is to blame for “starting” a conflict is not as important as establishing productive ways to avoid the conflict from starting, or from escalating.


6. Come Together - Spend time together as a family and with each of your children individually. Family activities can reduce conflict, Enjoy fun family time together so that everyone feels he or she is a valued member of the family.

Spending parent quality time with each child can also reduce jealousy among siblings.

When parents give focused attention through regular parent quality time, a child’s need for sibling competition lessens. When children feel valued by their parents, they have fewer reasons to get their parents to punish or blame siblings.

7. Siblings are forever - As parents we need to help our children be life-long friends.\impress upon your children what "brother" or "sister" really means. Children sense that "blood is thicker than water." Brothers and sisters are a sort of live-in support system. Here's the message we give our children: "Your brothers and sisters will ultimately be your best friends. Once your other friends have moved or drifted away, your family friends will always be there