Siblings are each other’s best friends and also each other’s best critics. From sharing food and wardrobe to fighting for the TV remote, somewhere in between every sibling duo grows up. Hats off to the parents who deal with their kid’s constant squabbles. It might sometimes get overwhelming, but it is mostly frustrating to deal with them, no doubt in that. These little clashes somehow end up creating some major instances of sibling rivalry, which is so not the right way of bringing up children. So as a parent, you need to minimise these instances by showing no biases towards one of your children and by pampering both of them with equal amounts of gifts for brother and sister. Though these differences would end up coming up and you won’t be able to avoid them completely, you can still lessen them. So, here are a few effective tips and tricks to reduce sibling rivalry, that you as a parent must take up to prevent and intervene among children.
- Don’t Lose Your Calm – Make sure to pay attention to what they have to say and don’t just rush into punishing them. Get into the deets of what and how did this entire matter of sibling rivalry arise in the first place. Help your kids to cool down and you too, relax as you reach out to the cause of the issue.
- Build A Cooperative Environment – Don’t ever compare between your kids, no matter in any sense. Favouring one over the other is sure to make the situation go bad to worse, not better. Instead, teach them cooperation and compromise by creating some opportunities. Children often learn to form the actions or the behaviour of their parents, so make sure you and your spouse set a good example for them. Don’t just always leave the arguments by banging the doors on each other’s face, rather sit, be calm and solve your issues with your partner just the way you would expect them to do.
- Celebrate Their Individuality – Every human is different from one another. So instead of comparing or showing one of your kids as superior to the other, celebrate their differences. Make sure you let them enjoy their own time, space and quality instead of labelling them as “good child” and the “better one”.
- Fun Activities For Family Time – Create a positive environment in your home for both of your children. Organise some family dinners, game nights, movie nights and house parties to bond and share some heartwarming memories with them. You can choose to celebrate various festivals like siblings day or even the festival of Raksha Bandhan in your home-sweet-home by ordering it alongwith online rakhi delivery in Mumbai or XYZ city to cherish their bond.
- Treat Fairly, Not Equally – As a parent, it is quite necessary that you are fair to both your children. But your fairness wouldn’t anyhow mean equal. Make sure to impart punishments and rewards tailored as per your kid’s individual needs. For instance, you may not have to give both of your children the same toy. You can choose to pamper him/her with something that he/she wishes to have, fitting nearly your budget. This kind of fairness is sure to help your children go a long way.
Other than these little tricks, you can choose to hear both of them out and then, figure out a way to make your own decision. Organise family meetings to resolve such conflicts but make sure to punish them privately. The core of the discussion is that siblings will fight, no matter what. However, how you deal with them through your problem-solving techniques will teach them and serve them well as they grow older and wiser.
