Ever have a fight with a sibling as a kid? Did your mom lock you in a room with each other till you kissed and hugged and made up? For many parents, kids that fight constantly are shrugged of as “Oh, it’s sibling rivalry”.
The thing with kids, though - they will push you as far as you let them. My two oldest were always exceptionally close - until this summer.
All of a sudden my daughter, who is nine, decided she couldn’t stand her brother (aged seven).
Well, I could brush it off as sibling rivalry (and ignore my seven year old’s tears - he LOVES his sister) or I could do something about it.
Every time she takes her friends side against her brother or says something mean, she gets grounded.
She’s gotten grounded a lot this year, but she is getting better. My son is ecstatic that she is playing with him again, albeit a little grumpily.
On the other side, I am trying to see her point of view, that she is trying to grow up (one of those pesky things about kids, growing up)!
I try to take her on girls only outings once in a while, and sometimes she goes with Daddy to run an errand while I play with the boys.
We are all much happier now! How do you deal with ‘Sibling Rivalry’?
That is good, taking your daughter seriously. Girls need girl time, and she has to be nice but still have the time with just mom.