Sibling rivalry is something every parent fears, but what if you could prevent it? What if you knew exactly what to do to stop the fighting and get your kids to actually like each other again? Sounds almost impossible, right? Well, according to the experts, it’s not! This article will show you simple strategies that you can use to rebuild your child’s broken relationship with their sibling or rival and get everyone back on track before things spiral out of control.
Say This Out Loud
I want to do that! No! I’m doing it!
Do these phrases sound familiar? If so, you’re not alone. Sibling rivalry is a common and often challenging issue that many parents face. And while there are no guaranteed solutions, there are some strategies that may help decrease the tension in your home.
Things Parents Need To Do
1) Communicate with your children.
2) Create a family mission statement.
3) Create consequences for fighting.
4) Establish family ground rules.
5) Implement and enforce the consequences of fighting.
6) Let go of the guilt associated with timeouts and punishment.
7) Be consistent.
8) Spend quality one-on-one time with each child.
9) Get to know your kids’ friends, school teachers, coaches and other adults in their lives who are important to them.
10) Recognize that each child is unique, but they all need to feel loved, appreciated and heard in order to be happy and healthy kids.
Things Children Need To Do
- Be nice to each other and don’t be mean. – Offer help to your brother or sister whenever they need it. – Put yourself in the other person’s shoes, and then try to think about how you would feel if they did that to you. – Compliment your sibling on something he or she did well. – Listen when your sibling is talking and don’t interrupt them with a lot of chatter.
Behavior Modifications For Parents
- Keep your children close together.
- Identify the hot spots and intervene before the conflict occurs.
- Help children find ways to play that don’t involve one-upping their siblings.
- Help them find ways to get along with each other that don’t involve fighting back (i.e., see who can stay in a room the longest, or see how many different tasks they can do at once).
Positive Behaviors Kids Should Have Instead Of Being Rivals
Instead of being rivals, kids should encourage and compliment one another when they are doing well. They should also be supportive and understanding when their sibling makes mistakes or has a bad day. The key to stopping sibling rivalry is to make it clear that it’s not okay to hurt one another with words or actions.