Avoid Sibling Rivalry by Not Assigning Roles to Each Child
Where there are siblings, rivalries arise, and it is usually the parent or nanny’s job to maintain harmony as much as possible. To keep her sons out of competition and fights, Cup of Jo’s Joanna Godard avoids “roles”.
This is brilliant advice. Growing up with twin sisters, I noticed that people feel obligated to find and point out their differences and put them in neat little boxes like smart, slightly taller, or musical. It was extremely useless and caused a lot of strife between my sisters.
It may even extend to labels such as “bully” and “victim,” and Godard changes his language to avoid attaching them to these roles:
So, if Toby pushes Anton, I try not to see him as an evil attacker and Anton as a weak victim. I’ll say, “Toby, this is too rude. You brothers should be gentle with each other. Toby and Anton, does this make sense to both of you? Remember to be gentle with each other. “
Follow the link below for four more tips for stifling sibling rivalry, and feel free to drop your own tips in the comments if you have any. (Passes a village, etc.)
Sibling Rivalry: 5 Tricks and Tips | Joe’s Cup