Dealing with Sibling Rivalry

The book of Genesis holds the first recorded accounts of sibling rivalry. Cain and Abel brought offerings to the Lord. God rejected Cain's offering of the fruit of the ground. But, He accepted Abel's offering of the firstlings of his flock. As a result Cain became angry and killed his brother. The book of Genesis continues with stories of rivalry between the following siblings: Ishmael and Isaac, Esau and Jacob, Leah and Rachel and Joseph and his eleven brothers. Frequently in Scripture sibling rivalry was the result of parental favoritism.

We received our first taste of sibling rivalry the day we brought our second child home from the hospital. Though our first child was potty trained he immediately started wetting his pants. When I nursed our new baby our oldest son constantly tried to push the baby aside. He wanted to sit in my lap to read books or talk.

We quickly learned that what our oldest son really desired was my attention. My husband came up with the idea of putting a little chair next to the chair where I nursed our new baby. That way our oldest child could sit in his own chair while I fed the baby. I often read stories to our oldest son while I nursed the new baby. That way he received the parental attention he craved. The day eventually arrived when he was happy to keep playing with his toys while baby ate.

When a baby joins the family adults tend to give all their attention to the new addition. The older siblings are often unintentionally pushed into the background. Allowing older siblings to help you care for the new baby creates a bond between siblings. Purchase something special for older siblings such as -- a new game or book, to play/read after baby's birth. Then, while baby naps spend quality time with the older children playing the new game or reading the book to them. This assures the older siblings of your unconditional love for them. It helps them to realize that they are still special, too.