Now that the children are off school to enjoy the summer holidays some arguing and falling out is to be expected. I don’t think there is any way to help siblings get along every minute of the day. It seems that siblings were born to give each other a hard time no matter how young or old they are. My brother and I argued non stop growing up and still have a tempestuous relationship now. I don’t know how my parents coped with us and remember reducing my mum to tears on a number of occasions! It can be rather frustrating to deal with sibling rivalry and siblings who simply can never get along. If you’re looking for ways to help your children get along more often than not, then you’ll appreciate these tips I’m sharing today.
Top Tips to Help Siblings Get Along
Treat Siblings as Individuals
Having one set of rules or way of treating your children may not work well to reduce sibling rivalry. The reason is that each sibling has their own unique personality and traits that help make that child an individual. Try to respond to each child in a way that works for their individual personality and try to encourage each of the siblings to appreciate the other one’s strengths as well as weaknesses.
Coach Siblings
One of the best tips I can share as a means to help siblings get along is to coach the siblings to stand up for themselves and learn to communicate their emotions. Siblings will clash from time to time and will annoy each other, but helping them communicate these issues will encourage siblings to get along. Coach your children to speak to each other in a way that encourages solutions rather than arguing.
Encourage Sharing
You may want to set a timer for toys to be shared or time on electronics to be shared. Starting with the use of a timer will help teach siblings to self-regulate sharing as they get older and start to develop better patterns of behavior to share with each other naturally. A simple egg timer will do or a timer on your smartphone that goes off every 20 minutes or so will help encourage siblings to get along.
Create a Positive Environment
Last, but not least, be sure to create a positive environment that encourages siblings to get along. Having a home environment that encourages family bonding time, siblings doing things together and a family who works together with a team mentality will all help go a long way when trying to help siblings get along.
When it comes to trying to help siblings get along the key is really all about using methods that help keep the peace all the while teaching your children the skills necessary for effective communication, sharing skills and other life skills that will help them get along regularly.
Resources
I found Siblings Without Rivalry: How to Help Your Children Live Together So You Can Live Too (How to Help Your Child)
