Two-Step Plan to Prepare Your Older Child for a New Brother or Sister
Every child has longings for more time and more closeness with their parents! These longings are a big part of why it’s hard to want to go to bed at night, hard to get dressed
Category: Siblings
“No, We Can’t Send Her Back”: Five Keys for Preparing Your Family for the Birth of a Sibling
Two days after my son was born, his five-year old sister carefully and quietly carried his bouncy chair to a room in the back of the house that wasn’t used much. When I walked back
Helping Siblings Get Along
Early one morning, my daughter began to be aggressive in her play with her younger brother. She was insisting that he play with her, and on her terms. He was doing his best to tell her no, but it wasn’t getting through. The situation was escalating, and quick.
There is More to Sharing Than Taking Turns
What makes the difference between children’s generous moments and the not-so-generous ones?
When Our Kids Show Us They “Get It”
By Ravid Aisenman Abrahmsohn I was reminded recently just how much children tell us when we listen – through good times and bad. One family in my Skill Building group has a five- year-old son
Help My Son Stop Hitting His Siblings
How can I help my child stop hitting his siblings?
Playing Away My Son’s Aggressive Behaviour
I had to keep a very close watch on my son, and be able to move in fast to protect myself or my daughter when he decided to have a swipe! But as the time went on, these incidents were fewer, and he was laughing more, and including his sister more in the games we were playing. I could sense we were all feeling very close.
Helping Your Children Get Along, Especially During the Holidays
When the holidays roll around, stress levels often run high, and children can get into frequent tussles with friends, siblings, and parents. We all get stretched during busy periods and that means that connected relationships
A Great Phrase To Use To Set Limits Without Blame or Shame
I have thought a lot about what words I say to my two children when they are pushing boundaries and I need to set a limit. I have found the phrase, “I can’t let you
Connecting Through Chaos: What to Do When Siblings Have Big Feelings at the Same Time
What parent hasn’t wished she could clone herself into an army of expert cuddlers, caregivers, lap holders, child carriers, diaper changers, housekeepers and taskmasters? How many times can we say, “There is only one of me”? We want to love, nurture and connect with our children, while at the same time supporting their healthy development, and also managing our responsibilities of putting the groceries away, cooking dinner, living in an organized house, maintaining relationships with the neighbors, driving the kids around… the list goes on. How can there ever be enough of us to go around?
Tantrums for Two: How to Manage with More Than One Upset Child
Q. Do you have any tips on helping 2-year-old twins who tantrum at the same time and very, very often? Most of the time I’m the only one there to listen and it just doesn’t
Siblings Fighting: When You Get There Too Late
When we decide to bring a second child home, we long for those siblings to be good friends. Or we at least hope to avoid siblings fighting all the time so we can get some
“Mine, Mine, Mine!” Fun Games to Encourage Sharing
We often think it’s our job as parents to teach our children the concept of sharing, to time turns, or give a toy to another child to stop a tantrum. This can be an exhausting task!
Helping Super-Competitive Children Relax
My son seems like he’s in the midst of a contest every moment. He needs to be first to get to the car, first to choose his seat, first to finish his dinner. This is a very irritating fixation. What can I do to help him not be one of those super-competitive children and just live his life, rather than try to prove over and over again how good he is?
Why Listening Works
A pair of six year old girls, teasing each other in the car on the way home from school. Oh joy, that’s my idea of a fun drive home. “You’re mean.” “I don’t like you.”
When Sharing Doesn’t Come Easily
In “It’s Mine! All About Sharing,” we looked at the “I’ll be with you while you wait” policy that helps children when they find themselves in competition for toys or attention. Now, we’ll turn to
“It’s Mine!” All About Sharing
When children want something, their feelings are often passionate. They can be gripped by a desire so strong that no other option will do. Every cell in their bodies is organized to communicate that having the blue shovel or the green balloon is the key to their happiness—a yellow shovel or a red balloon simply won’t do. But as any parent who has tried to enforce sharing knows, taking turns at those moments is far easier said than done.
Supporting Sibling Friendships
Our children’s squabbles restimulate lots of old feelings in us, so that it’s often hard for us to intervene without causing more hurt. We need listening time to help us work through our frustrations and our fears about their upsets they have. We need a chance to release the feelings that rise in us when the fighting starts.