Sibling rivalry can occur in siblings of any age, from very small children all the way through adults. In some cases, sibling rivalry may be very intense in the early years, but may become less intense as the siblings grow and mature. In other cases, sibling rivalry might not even begin to appear until the siblings are teenagers. This is especially common given the fact that teenagers tend to have a harder time than others controlling their emotional responses. In addition, handling sibling rivalry in teenagers requires a different approach than handling sibling rivalry in younger children.

Teenagers who are siblings tend to experience sibling rivalry for a variety of reasons. In some cases, especially if the teenagers are of the same gender and are close in age, the sibling rivalry may be due to competition. It may be that they are competing academically, or even socially. In other cases, it may be that the teenagers are jealous of one another, or that just one of the siblings is jealous of the other. In still other cases, one sibling may feel like they dont have any personal space, especially if the teenagers share a room. Because of the stressful social environment of high school, some siblings may wind up at odds with one another based on the social groups with which they associate at school.

Regardless of the particular cause of the sibling rivalry in the teenagers, the good news is that teenagers are more able than younger children to identify those causes, and to try to work through them in a rational way. Addressing sibling rivalry in your teenagers requires certain conflict management skills. You need to be able to help each of the teenagers to see the other’s point of view. You need to help them to be able to express themselves, and to communicate exactly what it is that they are feeling. Finally, you need to be able to help them negotiate a solution, or even to help them brainstorm a solution to their sibling rivalry.

Posted in Parenting

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