Thursday, June 19, 2008

Fighting Siblings

Syd & Rob have been fighting A LOT lately. Mostly Sydney not wanting Rob to come near her- her new mantra is "Rob, I said NO!" whenever he touches the beanbag she is sitting on or touches a princess toy that she's not playing with. This is SO out of my realm of understanding, having had no siblings. Any advice on sibling relations?

Although yesterday I caught Syd & Rob eating out of the same chip bowl (one Syd stole off the counter) looking out the window- seeming like they liked each other. Very Sweet!

6 comments:

Mike Kessler said...

I know this one first-hand, but only as a kid, not as a parent. Seems like Syd's learning about setting limits, but, of course, she doesn't understand that Rob isn't there yet. Katie will know, of course, and your other cousins, and perhaps Aunt Linda is up for tackling this one -- she had to deal with it lots of times!

Erika said...

I don't think that their is a magical answer...but if you are in on the magic...please, let me know!
My kids go through phases--constant bickering or happily playing together. Sadly, it is normal sibling behavior. and we get the fun job of being the referee-- ARGHHHH!!

Jessica said...

Yeah, it's sort of normal. My brother and I fought constantly until, oh, a few years ago.

Mike Kessler said...

Yeah, I'm sure when Marsha and I were Syd and Rob's ages, we had the same thing going on. But by the time I could start remembering things, we got along great from then on, with a very few minor exceptions. In other words, neither Syd nor Rob will remember this in a few years. They'll only remember the good parts.

Ashley said...

Ugh, welcome to this new realm. Rae gets so frustrated when Blaise won't play her little games the way she wants him too, and Blaise retaliates when she gets annoyed with him. But then sometimes they'll head into the bedroom and play together for 10 minutes without any bickering. I think it's a matter of letting them solve some of their problems on their own and stepping in when it gets physical or completely unfair. I think it comes down to making sure both of them get the same treatment (of course tailored to their age) and not taking sides. Sometimes I find myself saying "Rae, just let Blaise touch your stuff!" when it's not really fair and Blaise needs to learn that he can't have her stuff all the time.

Unknown said...

ashley is exactly right---siblings have a whole different world away from the parents---let them figure out their way---as long as it isnt physical---teach them to play fair in games, whose turn it is, let one cut the sandwich and then the other gets to choose the half---but the kids will figure out their places and the pecking order....but it takes years.