How to Prevent Sibling Rivalry Between Your Children

Parents often have to deal with siblings that fight with each other or compete for attention, but there are some ways that you can encourage togetherness and a team spirit so that your family will not be negatively affected by sibling rivalry.

Usually, siblings harbor resentment because of feelings of inadequacy or inferiority, and you can stop your children from experiencing this by keeping them involved in family life.  Any time you have a new addition to your family, make sure that your other children are completely involved in your pregnancy so that they get used to the idea of having another brother or sister around when the time comes.

Make Your Child Feel Important and Special

If you can make the older sibling feel important, then you will have fewer problems with them adjusting to the new baby.  You may want to buy some presents for your older child and save them so that when your baby is getting gifts and attention, you can give your other child a small gift or take them to the toy store so that they don’t feel left out.

It is also important to make sure that you share your time as evenly as possible.  It is really difficult to split your time between a newborn and your other children, and the best way to do this is by getting a baby sling from a baby supplies store so that you can keep your baby in your arms and also give attention to your other children at the same time.

Be Positive Around Your Children to Prevent Rivalry

Another great way to prevent sibling rivalry is to stay as positive as you can so that you can create harmony in your household.  Also, you can teach your children to be sensitive to their siblings, as this is a great way to prevent sibling rivalry.  If you teach to your children to turn to each other for help, comfort, entertainment, and to share their feelings or thoughts, then your family will be able to form a close bond.

Many parents want to treat their children exactly the same to prevent sibling rivalry, but this is neither realistic nor possible.  Instead, you should try to make sure that every child feels special because of his or her unique traits.  Try to limit the comparisons that you make about your children so that they don’t feel like they are constantly competing with one another.  This can really help children feel more secure and feel like they are valuable because they are unique and not for how well they can do something.

Laugh With and Talk to Your Children

Another way to prevent sibling rivalry is to be humorous whenever possible and set rules and limits so that your children can live in a peaceful environment.  You can also attempt to set your children up to be friends with each other, and if you follow many of these tips, that is exactly the type of environment that you will be fostering.

If you encounter any issues with your children, call everyone together and hold a family meeting so that you can discuss how the family can resolve any problem.  You should also intervene in any dispute that your children may have and listen to both sides of the argument so that you can help them come to a resolution.