


Your children’s developmental stages affect how well they can share your attention and get along with one another.Ĭhildren who are hungry, bored or tired are more likely to start fights.Ĭhildren may not know positive ways to get attention from their brother or sister, so they pick fights.įamily dynamics play a role. They want to show that they are separate from their siblings.Ĭhildren feel they are getting unequal amounts of your attention, discipline, and responsiveness.Ĭhildren may feel their relationship with their parents is threatened by the arrival of a new baby. As they discover who they are, they try to find their own talents, activities, and interests. There are many factors that contribute to sibling rivalry:Įach child is competing to define who they are as an individual. Working things out with siblings gives your children a chance to develop important skills like cooperating and being able to see another person’s point of view. Most likely your kids’ relationship will eventually develop into a close one.

What’s the up-side of having more than one child? Read on for tips and resources to help you keep the peace at your house. There are lots of things parents can do to help their kids get along better and work through conflicts in positive ways. Sibling rivalry usually continues throughout childhood and can be very frustrating and stressful to parents. Problems often start right after the birth of the second child. It is a concern for almost all parents of two or more kids. Sibling rivalry is the jealousy, competition and fighting between brothers and sisters. Reviewed by faculty and staff at the University of Michigan
