Sibling Rivalry

Being a mother to two growing kids is the most challenging phase in my life. My eldest is now 8 years old and the youngest is 3 years old. When I was pregnant with my youngest, my daughter was very excited because she said that her wish came true…that is, to have a little brother or sister. I was happy with her reaction and I’m thinking that my children will be going along well and she will be a big sister to her younger sibling.

Three years passed since I gave birth to my youngest and the reality is now starting to unfold. Every time my children are together (by the way, my youngest is a boy), they get along at first but later on you can hear discussions between them then shouting, crying then worst they hurt each other physically. It seems that they made it their hobby to quarrel. They would disagree on almost everything…. programs to watch on tv, who goes to the bathroom first, who will open the door…..and the list goes on.

I think this is what experts call sibling rivalry. Each kid wanted to win over another and get what they wanted. And I want to think that this is normal for kids their age and hope that their behavior towards each other will become better as they grow older.

For now, my husband and I sees to it that whenever they had a fight, they have to say sorry to each other and as much as possible, we don’t take sides, we make them feel that they are both loved.