Tag Archives: sibling rivalry

Does Fighting Mean They Hate Each Other?

Sometimes siblings can fight in such a hard and mean way that a parent wonders if there is any love between them at all! When they are screaming about how much they hate each other and the fists are flying, you may start to believe they actually DO hate each other and worry that they will never be close or supportive. For parents of hard-fighting siblings, DO they really hate each other for good? Some of us may have our own history with siblings that we did not get along well with or may even be estranged from as adults. … Continue reading →

Looking after your Mental Health over Christmas

The holiday period can be a stressful time as families get together and old grievances move from festering mode into an outright screaming match. So how can you make this Christmas a better one in terms of your mental health? The key is to Be Prepared! If you have a history of unhappy Christmases with your family, the first option to consider is whether to see your birth family at all. Where considerable damage has been wreaked by a parent on a child, or by one sibling on another, and there is no hope of change, it can be preferable … Continue reading →

Little Monster Did It! – Helen Cooper

“Little Monster Did It!” by Helen Cooper is one of those children’s picture books that incorporates a cute story with darling illustrations. The face on the little monster is just adorable. Amy has a mommy and a daddy, and it’s very quiet at their house, except for the times when she decides to play her drums. She liked it best with just the three of them. One day, when Amy’s mom had to go to the hospital, she left Amy a big box with a note that read, “This little monster wants to be your friend.” Amy opened the box … Continue reading →

Tommy’s New Sister – Gerda Marie Scheidl

Is there a new little one on the way to your house? Do you know someone who has just had a baby? If that baby has older siblings, this might be a great gift to help deal with sibling rivalry. Tommy has a wonderful mother and father, and a great dog named Muffin. But one day, a new baby came to live with them. Her name was Wendy, and she stayed for a really long time! That was confusing. He didn’t understand why she was bald, either. And he really didn’t want to help take care of her. Tommy had … Continue reading →

Strong Sibling Bonds

We tend to focus on the ways that siblings fight and squabble and DON’T get along as we look for ways to combat sibling rivalry. Many of us who have had more than one child really hope that our children will grow up with strong and lasting sibling bonds and wonder what we can do to make that reality more likely? The hope of close sibling bonds was one of the reasons I chose to have my kids close together. With each of them barely a year apart, they have grown up in a cluster or a clan and they … Continue reading →

Broom Mates – Marge Palatini

Who says you can only talk about witches on Halloween? I love this picture book by Marge Palatini, and so even though we’re still three months out from the spookiest holiday (unless you count National Mother-in-Law Day) I’m going to share it with you. Gritch the Witch was studying herself in her magic mirror, noting how worn out she looked. She needed to get some beauty sleep, badly. She climbed into bed and was just dozing off when the doorbell rang (or rather, screamed.) With a sigh, Gritch went to the door, to find her sister, Mag the Hag, standing … Continue reading →

Little Sister for Sale – Morse Hamilton

Kate is having little sister problems. First she finds the pigtail on her favorite doll chopped in half, then she discovers that all the strawberries in the bowl on the table have had the good parts eaten off. Abby did this – Kate is sure of it! Off she goes to find Abby, but she’s not anywhere. Not under her bed, where she usually hides when she’s been up to little-sister-mischief. However, Kate did find her favorite coloring book under there, all scribbled up! Then she finds her toothbrush all wet, when she’s not the one who used it. “Maybe … Continue reading →

Sibling Issues in Adoption

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I’ve recently blogged about adopted children’s adjustment at home and about grandparents’ relationships with the new child . Today I’d like to devote some attention to siblings. Much of what is written about sibling rivalry in general will also apply to adoptive families, of course. Kids who have been only children seem to have more trouble while a sibling is newly placed than those who are already used to sharing their parents’ attention. But there are two major differences: timing and age. When a child’s mother is pregnant he knows, for a few months at least, that things are changing. … Continue reading →

Beezus and Ramona – Beverly Cleary

When Beverly Cleary began writing her Henry Huggins series, she included neighborhood children as characters to be friends for Henry. Among those children was Beezus Quimby, a little girl just Henry’s age. Cleary later decided to do a series of books specifically about Beezus and her younger sister Ramona. “Beezus and Ramona” is the first book in that series. Beezus is nine years old, and she’s very mature and practical. This is in direct opposition to her four-year-old sister Ramona, who’s imaginative and energetic, and, at times, completely out of control. She disrupts Beezus’s sense of order and causes quite … Continue reading →

Report Says Sibling Spats Are Inevitable

Sometimes I worry that as Tyler gets older he’ll miss having a sibling. Then again when I think about the squabbles, the “make him stop looking at me”, the sibling rivalry— well, maybe being an only child’s not such a bad thing. If you have more than one child, you probably get your fill of sibling spats, perhaps a daily dose even. Now a new report says that these sibling spats are inevitable. The study was conducted by researchers at Pennsylvania State University. I found some of the conclusions drawn by the researchers a bit odd. Here are a few … Continue reading →