Dealing with Sibling Rivalry in Young Children

A lot of young children grow up with a sense of sibling rivalry. Here’s the story of how it almost always happens. You have your first child and they are the centre of attention. They love taking up all of your time, and then you have a second child. Suddenly, the first child gets extremely jealous – who is this young upstart? Are they trying to take my place? The baby is born and the resentment kicks in, leading to a rivalry that can last for many years unless you step in. 

As parents, we should try to discourage sibling rivalry at all costs. It’s not healthy and can lead to a strained relationship between brothers and sisters – which nobody likes to see. What can you do to combat sibling rivalry? Here are a few ideas that spring to mind.

Distribute your attention evenly

Make a genuine effort to give all of your kids the same amount of attention. If you spend too much time with one, then the other(s) will start feeling left out. They’ll blame their sibling for this, forming a rivalry. 

Obviously, when you have a newborn, they need most of your attention. Still, ensure your other child isn’t left out. Spend quality time with them to show that you don’t have any favourites. It demonstrates that there’s no need for your children to compete with one another; you love them equally! 

Get your kids matching things

Another good way to squash any sibling rivalry is by getting your kids matching things. Buying some children’s personalised pyjamas for them both is a brilliant idea – or getting them matching trainers and outfits. 

The idea is that you bring them closer together by having all of this matching stuff. You also remove an element of jealousy from the relationship. Child A won’t be jealous because Child B gets cool new stuff and they don’t. 

Encourage them to play together

Likewise, getting your kids to play together is the best way to deal with sibling rivalry. The secret is establishing this from a very young age. If your children grow up as toddlers playing together, they’ll be like that for many years. The idea of playing with their sibling seems normal and natural to them – if anything, it’s weird to play with them. 

This also encourages the idea of sharing things with one another, which also removes jealousy from the equation. Ultimately, you get rid of the whole rivalry thing and start raising kids that see one another as friends. This is what every parent wants as it will lead to a lifetime of goodwill between them. 

At the end of the day, you don’t want your children to feel like they’re competing against one another. Plus, there’s a darker side to sibling rivalry that could lead to bullying in the home. No child should grow up in a house where they’re constantly at odds with their brothers or sisters. Everyone should get along and be close to one another; it’s what makes a family a family! Try the ideas above and see if they help to discourage sibling rivalry in your young children.