The Complete Guide to Dealing With Your Kids’ Sibling Rivalry
It seems like your kids won’t go for more than ten minutes without finding something to fight about.
Your ears are ringing from their screams. Your head is spinning from the stress of figuring out yet another dispute.
You believe in Positive Parenting and don’t want to use time outs or yelling, but you’re desperate for some way to get these kids to simmer down and solve their own disagreements.
You’ve come to the right place. I’ve collected the best resources for dealing with sibling rivalry the Positive Parenting way.
Scroll down and click on the topic you’re looking to learn more about.
About the Author
I’m Esty Limon.
I’m a mom of four and a special ed teacher.
My first two kids are almost exactly two years apart. And when they started fighting, I was devastated.
I wanted my little girls to be best friends. I wanted them to help each other dress their dolls and color their Hello Kitty books.
Instead, their favorite activity was hitting each other, stealing each other’s toys, and then running to me to cry.
I didn’t want to punish either of them. Taking their toys away wouldn’t solve anything.
So I started researching how to get them to want to play nicely with each other. And I’ve compiled my favorite resources for you below.
Top Resources to Solve Your Kids’ Sibling Rivalry
Table of Contents
How to build relationships between siblings
If your kids feel connected to each other, they’ll instinctively take care of each other.
How can you build a bond between your children? These resources have some fantastic ideas.
The ultimate resource guide of family bonding activities
(A Fine Parent)
11 sure-fire ways to stop sibling fighting and encourage siblings to get along
(Happy Hooligans)
How to encourage good sibling relationships
(Very Well Family)
5 ways to encourage a positive sibling relationship
(Sarah Ockwell-Smith)
Why you need to stop lecturing your kids (and what to do instead)
(A Fine Parent)
Helping your child adjust to the new baby
(Professional Parenting)
promote harmony at home
(Hand in Hand Parenting)
Ready to help your kids stop squabbling and start getting along?
Download my Sibling Rivalry Troubleshooter free!
What to do when kids fight
What are you supposed to do when the kids are fighting? How can you stop the war and turn the relationship around?
These resources have some great tips to help you restore the peace.
When sibling fights turn physical: ultimate guide to success
(Positive Parenting Solutions)
How to Defuse Sibling Rivalry (& Turn the Ship Around)
(A Fine Parent)
When siblings fight, should I give them a “time out”?
(How to Talk So Little Kids Will Listen)
Tips for responding to sibling conflict
(Alyson Schafer)
Dealing with sibling aggression
(Not Just Cute)
How to help each child with big emotions
(Aha! Parenting)
Handling sibling fights
(Raising Children)
Ready to help your kids stop squabbling and start getting along?
Download my Sibling Rivalry Troubleshooter free!
How to minimize competition
What’s the best way to stop a fight?
To prevent it from happening in the first place.
Most of the time, kids fight because they feel threatened by their sibling.
They view their sibling as competition instead of as being on their team.
So how can you minimize the competition? I’ve found lots of resources to help you do just that.
Three steps to stop sibling rivalry before it happens
(Hand in Hand Parenting)
Sibling rivalry remedies
(Professional Parenting)
Sibling rivalry solutions (tips for keeping the peace)
(Practical Katie)
From sibling rivals to sibling best friends
(Peaceful Parents Confident Kids)
How to prevent sibling fighting
(Aha! Parenting)
5 steps to reduce sibling conflict in your family
(Yummy Mummy Club)
6 ways to do special time when you have more than one child
(Hand in Hand Parenting)
What to do when they won’t share
Sharing almost feels like a dirty word when it comes to siblings.
Siblings already are stuck sharing almost everything, from their parents’ attention to seats in the car.
So, what should you do when they both want the same toy or the same chair? How can you help your child feel cared for and raise her to care for others?
Share… Wait Your Turn… Don’t Touch… Playdate Rules That Limit Learning
(Janet Lansbury)
Could not forcing a toddler to share help with sharing conflicts?
(Peaceful Parents Confident Kids)
Sharing toys with siblings: how to stop the arguments
(Imperfect Families)
Positive parenting: rethinking “You have to share that!”
(Positive Parenting Connection)
“It’s mine!” All about sharing
(Hand in Hand Parenting)
How to teach communication skills
Lots of “he said … she said” fights start because siblings didn’t communicate well.
But little kids aren’t the best communicators, and when they’re frustrated their communication is even worse.
How can you help your kids learn to talk with each other positively and productively?
How to stop siblings from fighting and teach conflict resolution instead
(Sleeping Should Be Easy)
When your 3 year old hits the baby
(Aha! Parenting)
The peaceful parenting approach to kid’s conflicts
(Peaceful Parent)
Siblings fighting? Try This Magical Tip to Help Siblings Get Along
(The Military Wife and Mom)
Ready to help your kids stop squabbling and start getting along?
Download my Sibling Rivalry Troubleshooter free!
What to do about jealousy
Sibling jealousy is a peace killer, yet it’s so common.
Maybe you just had another baby. Maybe another sibling is going through a hard time.
Whatever the reason, you often can’t treat siblings exactly the same. And that can leave one sibling feeling burning jealousy.
Don’t worry; these resources have you covered.
Love Enough for Two
(Connection Parenting)
Two under two? No problem! The real difficulties of welcoming a second child
(Sarah Ockwell-Smith)
7 things you need to do to avoid sibling jealousy
(Sleeping Should Be Easy)
When my son struggled with his baby sister
(Peaceful Parent)
A peaceful approach to sibling jealousy
(Hand in Hand Parenting)
The most powerful way to turn sibling rivalry into sibling harmony
(The Military Wife and Mom)
How to coach kids to problem-solve
Siblings interact with each other a ton, and disagreements are bound to crop up.
How can you teach your kids to problem-solve with each other?
Problem solving is a tough skill that takes time to master. But if you encourage your kids to keep working at it, they’ll eventually start solving their disagreements on their own.
A surprising solution to sibling fighting
(Imperfect Families)
How to encourage siblings to get along from a young age
(Sleeping Should Be Easy)
Sibling rivalry: helping children develop problem solving skills
(Peaceful Parent)
7 Reasons to Stop Judging (and Start Trusting) Sibling Play
(Janet Lansbury)
The dead balloon: resolving sibling rivalry
(The Attached Family)
Sibling conflict; can any good come of this?
(Positive Discipline)
Conclusion
Your kids are still fighting. And you still don’t want to use time outs or yelling when they do.
But now you have the tools to help your children solve their own disagreements.
So which tool will you use today? Will you work to reduce your kids’ jealousy? Or will you help them build their problem-solving skills?
Let me know!
