MomTalk.com January 23, 2021: The women's magazine for moms about children, family, health, home, fashion, careers, marriage & more
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Stamp Out Sibling Rivalry (Yes, it's possible!)
You find your kids practically coming to blows over who got more cream cheese on their bagel, and you can't help but think: There is just no way to avoid sibling rivalry. Well, if the goal is to avoid it entirely, then you might be right, says John Rosemond, author of The New! Six-Point Plan for Raising Happy, Healthy Children (Andrews McMeel Publishing). "The only way to prevent it is to only have one child or to space kids 18 years apart," says Rosemond, with a laugh. That said, there's plenty you can do to help defuse kids' natural tendency to push one other's buttons. Want to (almost) keep the peace? Put these strategies to work in your house. 1. Behave as if you were Switzerland.>/b> Resist the urge to rush in, because "when you intervene, you're likely to identify one child as the villain and one as the victim," Rosemond explains. The obvious problem: It takes two to squabble, and you may be unfairly maligning one kid. The not-so-obvious problem: You're creating a dynamic that will quickly become a self-fulfilling prophecy. "If that victim gets attention for being a victim, he's going to continue to elicit that villain behavior from his brother or sister," Rosemond says. Instead, let them work out squabbles themselves. The only caveat? If your younger child is 3 years old or under, or you sense either child is in physical danger, by all means play ref. Jump to full text of this article here.
Categories: Toddlers, Pre-Schoolers, School-Age, Tweens, Teens, Children,  Related Articles: Preparing Your Child for a New Sibling,
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