Sibling Jealousy

Jealousy among children is to be expected. Even though these children love each other they also become envious of the attention the other one gets or over something that the other child gets to do but they cannot or are not allowed. While we can't prevent this 100% we can help siblings cope with these things and make jealousy something that is rare. The following is a list of things you can do to help prevent jealousy among siblings.

• Explain to an older child(ren) that your baby or toddler needs a lot of help from its family members. Explain that they can not use the bathroom, eat, talk, or even get a toy that they want by themselves unlike the older child(ren) can.
• Make sure that your older child(ren) get lots of hugs and that they can have a chance to talk about what and how they feel.
• Spend regular time alone with your older child(ren). They are less likely to get jealous of the extra attention your smaller children if they can have some time with you that they know is there. They need to know that that time is a dependable/reliable time that is set aside for them.
• Explain to your child that when the younger one wants a toy that they are playing with that they are trying to copy the older child. They learn from mocking what other people do. At this point you can also teach your children to share and what a good feeling experience that can be for them.
• Make sure that you explain and emphasize the fact that everyone gets turns. Your older child may be going to an event that the younger child can not attend. You can explain that your younger child will have their turn to have that opportunity.

I hope these can help avoid childhood jealousy and if I can think of or find any more tips on this I will make sure that I post them here!

Thanks for reading