Sibling Rivalry

By Geri Wong, an MWF parent

Every parent raises their children hoping that the siblings will grow up together and enjoy a lifetime of harmonious companionship, friendship, and support for each other.  But, if you've got more than one child who's an active preschooler, like I do, that can seem like a very lofty goal.  Or is it?  The Siblings Without Rivalry PEC seminar helped me understand the underlying causes for sibling rivalry in easy-to-understand concepts and provided some practical steps to minimize conflicts as well as resolve them when they occur.  On a deeper level, the speaker made me realize that even though my kids are young, they are every bit full of emotion, pride, sense of reasoning, and eagerness to please as any adult.  They want and need people to respect them and the things that are important to them. 

One of the tools presented was to give each child a protected play space—an area and toys that they can claim as their own.  The protected play space is their safe place where they can play without worrying that their sibling will knock down, say, their best train creation ever.  I found that sharing was actually easier for my kids when they knew they didn’t have to share everything.  It was amazing to me how major an impact such a minor physical change to my children’s environment had on their interaction with each other.  I learned that as parents, we can’t control everything, but we have the power to create an environment that fosters respect and consideration for each child, which, with a little luck, can place them on a path toward a wonderful relationship with each other.  What more could a mother ask for?