The Importance of Nurturing Healthy Relation among Siblings

Girl- See mom, Rahul isn’t returning my toy that you brought for me yesterday.

Mother- He is your brother and you shouldn’t fight over a simple toy every time.

Girl- But mom, it’s my toy and se is trying to open it and see what’s inside that. This way he will turn my toy into a junk.

Mother- Rahul, why are you doing so? Return the toy to Riya. Let her play with that for some time.

Rahul- Mom, Riya’s name isn’t mentioned in the toy and even I am not doing anything wrong with that.

Mother- Oh God, you people will make me mad some day. Why you people can’t play quietly and let me work peacefully.

Suddenly Rahul and Riya started fighting and their mother become angry. She took a stick and approached to Rahul to beat him. Riya was noticing the thing and stopped her mom from beating Rahul. She told her mother that she is ready to share the toy with her brother and from now they won’t fight anymore over small issues.

Squabble over toys or a disagreement about house rules may seem pretty typical between the siblings. But at the same time the siblings are the best mate of each other. In families where children have their siblings, the kids enjoy a better level of safety and security. In our Indian culture, the brothers are called the protectors of their sisters. In the process of development of children, the siblings play a vital role. Many of the life skills kids learn from their siblings only. Nut in many cases it is found that siblings develop jealousy and an unhealthy relation between each other. It is harmful not only for them, but can hinder their growth also. Thus it is very important to develop a healthy relation between the siblings in a very early age. The following tips can help the parents to nurture a healthy relation between their kids:-

• Never compare one child with the other. This may create a feeling of competitiveness among the children which may stretch even to the adulthood. Being parents, we should always encourage healthy competition between the kids
• If any child complains you about the other kid, first ask them to come together. Listens to each of them and then try to resolve the matter without getting angry. Your patience can teach your child many lessons of life
• Try to encourage your kids to take part in group activities. You can provide them a chess board so that they can play together. If there are more than two kids, give them a business board or game that can encourage group activities
• Use humor. When children start arguing, using humor can disarm them and catch them off guard. It also puts their negative behavior in a new light and can help them see how insensitive some of their actions are. Consider using a funny voice to catch their attention.

Games allow for more opportunity for children to explore, build and create together as siblings and friends. Promoting self-awareness and learning about each other is essentially linked to social flexibility, understanding, cooperation, compromise and communication.