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Lifelong Friends?
Soothing Sibling Rivalry
By Erin Brown Conroy, M.A.
Teaching our children to be menders begins with ourselves. Our healthy (or unhealthy) responses to conflict spill into our children's lives, embedding within them patterns that either "mend" and help, or "break" and create difficulty for our child's future.
Feelings and emotions – even negative ones – are great gifts that enrich our lives. Part of "growing up" is learning how to deal with emotions constructively. We all have the inner ability to balance difficult emotions with rational thoughts. Balancing feelings and thoughts builds relationships instead of tearing them down. Sibling rivalry won't go away, but teaching our children the tools of inner balance helps to smooth sibling rivalry's impact on relationships, turning brothers and sisters into lifelong friends.