Sibling rivalry among your children cannot be completely avoided. The fact remains that sibling rivalry is a common and normal occurrence. In some cases, sibling rivalry can merely be a positive form of competition among your children. However, in many cases, sibling rivalry can grow from being a small dispute among your children into an all out war among your entire family. Fortunately, there are some things that you can do to both reduce the frequency and the intensity of sibling rivalry among your children.

The most important thing that you can do to avoid sibling rivalry among your children is to teach them effective communication skills. When your children know how to express their own needs and wants, and when they are able to actively listen to their siblings’ needs and wants, and to be empathetic with their siblings, your children will be much more likely to avoid sibling rivalry. While this is, of course, an ongoing process, making sure that your family communicates well with one another is indeed the first step in avoiding sibling rivalry among your children.

Another thing that you can do to avoid sibling rivalry among your children is to be certain that you are treating them equally. This not only goes for things like discipline, but it also includes things like rewards. For example, if you make your youngest son’s favorite meal (which also happens to be your favorite meal) every Tuesday night, you should try to do the same with your oldest son’s favorite meal. Obviously, there will be differences in both responsibilities and privileges between your children because of age or other factors, but the fact remains that, in every area possible, you should treat your children equally to avoid sibling rivalry among your children.

While sibling rivalry among your children cannot be completely avoided, following these simple steps may help to reduce the amount of tension that occurs in your family due to sibling rivalry.

Posted in Parenting

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