Sibling Rivalry At Shelly's House

The Kiddos enjoying Ice Cream!

As a Mom of three children and a sister of three older brothers, I have definitely seen my share of sibling rivalry, however, I definitely don't consider myself an expert on it. I remember arguing with my brothers over things as I was growing up, but the arguing seems minimal in my eyes now. It was "They won't play with me" or "They won't share". Looking back, I was the bratty little sister.

I have seen some of this with my children, but honestly I don't think that my kids fight very much. Now, don't get me wrong there are times when they drive me insane because they can look sideways at the other and start to fight. But it definitely seems like the days that they get along well are much more frequent.

My husband and I decided very early on in our parenting that we would make it a point to consistently spend time with each child alone so that they still felt special. We still make it a point to try to spend an hour or so alone with each child at least one time per month. It has been a little more difficult now that they are in school, but my husband and I both have flexible careers that allow us to have our children at our business for periods of time. So, my older children take turns getting to come to work with me on Saturday mornings and then they'll switch off going to Daddy's shop after school for an hour. We don't necessarily talk about the most important stuff in the world, but it gives them a little unwind break time and if there is something on their mind, it gives them the opportunity to bring it up to us in an nonthreatening manner.

In addition to this, we have made it a point to raise our children to respect their other siblings (and others in general). If someone does something different than you would choose to do it, that doesn't make them wrong and it doesn't make you better, God just made both of you differently. Not everyone has to be your best friend all of the time, but at the end of the day, you need to treat them as you would want to be treated, and that includes your siblings.