Siblings fight and argue all the time, it is very normal and may occur on a daily basis. It gets very frustrating for parents to find their children going at it numerous times a day. Here are a few things parents can do to bring siblings closer.
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Never Compare Them
This is extremely important if you want your children to form a closer bond. Comparing your children can leave them feeling hurt or even insecure. This will do you no good as they will only grow to resent their sibling instead of improving themselves as you expect.
Every individual is different, it is completely 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 disappointing you 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 may drive them apart further. It will only add to the fume of rivalry between them.
Listen To Them
There are bound to be times when they are annoyed with each other and there will be certain things they particularly hate about each other. As a parent, you should always give them an 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 help them avoid holding grudges against each other. If possible, make the other listen while one confess what they hate 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 annoy their sibling, they may avoid repeating it in front of their brother or sister.
Compliment Them
Even as adults, we love hearing compliments or good things from others. The same goes to children and this would be effective to compliment them when they’re being kind to one another. It is good to catch them when they are playing or working well with each other and compliment them for doing so.
This could encourage them to be good with each other more for your approval. When you show support for the things they do, they would be happier to do it again. However, be sure not to make this habit too often as things can get boring and it might not be as effective if it’s been repeated too much.
Make Them Help
When one sibling gets injured or wounded from playing or anything, it could be great to make the other sibling help in fetching 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 instead of 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 it can 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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