Siblings fight and argue all the time, it is completely normal and usually happens on a daily basis. It gets very frustrating for parents to find their children going at it a few times a day. Here are four things parents can do to bring siblings closer.
1. Don’t Ever Compare Them
This is incredibly important if you want your children to be able to form a closer bond. Comparing your children can leave them feeling hurt or even insecure. This will not do you any good as they will only end up growing to resent their sibling rather than improving themselves as you expect.
Every individual has different strengths, it is absolutely unreasonable to expect one child to be just like the other. Your child could also feel pressured that they have to be as good at something as their sibling. They could also feel like they are letting you down and are less than their brother or sister.
None of these things will contribute to any positive outcomes in the future. Instead of helping your child be better and have a closer relationship with their sibling, this might instead drive them apart further. It will only add to the fume of rivalry between the two of them.
2. Listen To Them
There are bound to be times when siblings are annoyed with each other and there will be certain things they especially hate about one another. As a parent, you should always give them the opportunity to rant and let out any hard feelings to you.
It should not be a sensitive thing to voice out what they dislike about each other. Letting them freely let out these frustrations could also help them avoid holding grudges against each other. If possible, make the other listen while one confess what they dislike about the other.
Make them both compromise and change their behaviour for a better relationship. When your child is aware that certain things they do will anger their sibling, they may avoid repeating it in front of their brother or sister again.
3. Praise Them
Even as adults, we love hearing compliments or good things from others. The same goes to children and this would be effective to praise them when they’re being kind to each other. It is good to catch them when they are playing or working well with each other and say good things to them for doing so.
This could encourage them to be good with each other more in order to get your approval. When you show support for the things they do, they would be more than happy to do it again. However, be sure not to make this habit too frequent as things can get boring in time and it might not be as effective if it’s been repeated too much.
4. Make Them Help
When one sibling gets hurt or wounded from playing or anything, it would be good to make the other sibling help in getting a plaster or assist in patching the injured child up. If the injuries were caused by the other sibling, it can be good in making them a helper rather than only being the hurter.
This can help them establish a relationship where they feel that they can rely on and take care of each other. Making them help each other out can not only form a closer bond between them but also make you feel better as a parent, knowing they’ll have each other’s backs when you’re not present.
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