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Sibling rivalry

Being a parent to more than one child can sometimes feel like one long peacekeeping mission, but days won’t always feel like this. Your children are likely to disagree and not like each other all of the time. There are some things you can try to help them enjoy each other’s company. 

Sibling rivalry

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How to handle sibling rivalry

  1. Protect one-to-one time. Spend time with your children individually doing something they enjoy. This shows them that you see them as individuals.  
  2. Give credit where it’s due. Recognise moments when they behave nicely to each other. Positive feedback encourages the same behaviour! 
  3. Embrace the age gap. Avoid lumping siblings together as ‘the kids’- show them that you recognise they are different ages and at different stages through one-on-one time.  

This has been adapted from https://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/grownups/top-tips-for-handling-sibling-rivalry

Sibling rivalry

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Looking for more?

Top three fail-proof ways to reduce sibling rivalry!

Family Lives has some more advice on handling sibling rivalry:

https://www.familylives.org.uk/advice/primary/behaviour/sibling-rivalry/

Time to reflect

When thinking about how you deal with sibling rivalry…  

What are you already doing that you want to carry on doing?  

What have you learned that you could try today?  

What do you want to do next?  

Know what you want to do next?

Log into your free account (on the top right-hand side) to set a goal on something that’s important to you and your family – then you can check in to show yourself how far you’ve come.

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