Siblings of any age although well behave would still end up in fights or arguments with each other occasionally. It could be of the difference in age gap or personality and ways parents handle the fights. The younger children are and the closer the age gaps are between the children, the more rivalry will be and it’s important for parents to know how to handle such issue.
You would need to first think through about the way you handle rivalry among your children and other people as children would learn how to handle their own conflicts by watching and emulating their own parents. Treat your children as individuals differently as each of them are unique on their own by acknowledging and stressing on their accomplishments. Always compliment them specifically for good job done and good behaviors too. Don’t forget to provide sufficient love and affection for your children through words and actions!
You may want to spend time alone with every child of yours by participating in different separated activities from their other siblings such as a stroll in the park or a trip down the grocery stall or even reading as this would give them a chance to express themselves and discuss with you their feelings. Teach a different approach to fighting as in showing them how to compromise or negotiate or just walk away from the fight. As parents at times you need to give your children the responsibilities to resolve in conflicts and parent should try to back off from their arguments but you would need to occasionally step in if the fights become physical to avoid violence.
Then, you would need to know what you shouldn’t do as parents. Don’t compare any of your children to each other or other children even if its positive issues. Neither should you take sides among your children as children would try to manipulate and involve you parents into their arguments to gain control. Try not to overreact on the siblings’ disputes as they are very bound to happen and if you end up overreacting, you might just get the whole situation worst. Ignore tattling from your children as they like to use it to improve their status with you parents. Avoid situations that can encourage rivalries especially involving a particular game or toy by limiting their exposure to such events.
If you have the chance, try to advice your children not to take any rivalries personally as sometimes, you or their siblings may not be aware and accidentally to do things that hurt their feelings. Help them to perpetuate in their sibling rivalry by trying not to compete and blame any of their siblings but just do their best they can by believing in themselves and their abilities. Sibling rivalries are very common and it’s also important for parents to handle it with care to avoid any disharmony which could influence the surrounding they are growing up in.