Parenting 101: Sibling rivalry

November 20, 1:54 PMBroward County Parenting Teens ExaminerSue Scheff

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Learn how to curb sibling rivalry in your home.

Dr. Michele Borba, TODAY Show Contributor

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Parent Expert: Dr. Michele Borba one on one interview

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Inside BIG Book of Parenting Solutions

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Part 8 of my sneak peek into Dr. Michele Borba's BIG BOOK of Parenting Solutions is a topic that many will relate to.  Sibling Rivalry!  How many of us (as adults) remember fighting with our siblings? How many parents are dealing with this today with their own children?

THE PROBLEM

Red Flags

Fighting words and actions between brothers and sisters; resentment and competition; constant or intense intermittent friction and hurt feelings; family disharmony due to constant sibling bickering

Read pages 29-34 for excellent tips, resources, advice and most importantly - SOLUTIONS.

Sneak Peek:

ONE SIMPLE SOLUTION

The Five Simple House Rules to Curb Sibling Bickering

Here are five house rules to curb sibling tiffs.  Each rule must be enforced consistently for results.

1. No yelling. Family members must use calm voices only - no yelling allowed.  If talks get heated, anyone can make a "time-out" hand sign hinting that he needs to cool down.

2. No taking without asking.  Permission of the owner must be granted before borrowing, using or taking property. (This is a major cause of sibling conflict, especially with tweens.)

3. No hurtful behaviors.  Hitting, name-calling, and hurtful behaviors are never allowed and will result in consequence (time-out for a younger child; loss of a privilege for an older one).

4. No involvement without evidence.  Get involved only if you actually  saw or heard the conflict.  If your kids seek your help with no evidence, suggest that they use Rock, Paper, Scissors.  It keeps you neutral, and your kids just might adopt the strategy for themselves.

5. No tattling.  This works wonders in curbing sibling resentment with younger kids: "Unless you tell me something to keep your brother out of trouble or from being hurt, I won't listen."

Next sneak peek: Overweight teens and children

Previous sneak peeks: (1) Gratitude Recipes: Big Book of Parenting Solutions, (2) Parenting 101: Ungrateful teens and children (3) Seven Deadly Parenting Styles, (4) Sex Talk with your Children, (5) Gifted children, (6) Money and your kids, (7) Oppositional Defiant Disorder, (8) Sibling Rivalry, (9) Overweight teens and children, (10) Lying

For those that don't have time to read, this is the perfect book for you since it is not the type of book you sit down to read. As parenting questions come up, you can go straight to the index and find the page number. Immediately you will see the pages divided by boxes, quick tips and advice and easy to read and understand resources. Did I mention she also gives you proven research and statistics?

Order The BIG BOOK of Parenting Solutions today! Whether it is for yourself or as a gift, you won't be disappointed.
 

INSIDE THE BIG BOOK OF PARENTING SOLUTIONS SLIDESHOW.

Click here for more articles on parenting. Don't forget to subscribe to my latest articles, and you won't miss the sneak peeks inside this valuable book as well as other great tips, resources and stories.

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