Sibling fights and bullying

It is normal for siblings to fight and pick on one another from time to time. Sometimes parents can get caught in the middle and it can make family life hard. Below are some ideas about handling sibling fights.

• Deal with fights according to severity:
• Minor disagreements: ignore, to avoid reinforcing this behavior with your attention.
• Louder disagreements: listen to all sides, then encourage your children to resolve the situation themselves.
• More intense fights: hear all sides and then separate your children or take away the object they are fighting about.
• Physical fights: hear all sides then give time outs or consequences for each child.
• Avoid trying to decide who started a fight: usually both have some responsibility. Giving a consequence for all the children involved will encourage them all to avoid fights in the future.
• Do not allow one of your children to chronically bully the others:
• Separate your children when bullying occurs.
• Recognize that close supervision of a child who chronically bullies may be needed.
• Arrange for your child to spend time with positive role models his/her age who can teach how to get along with others.
• Spending time with your child showing him how to share, take turns, and play without fighting.

Adapted from Jellinek, M. (2000). Bright Futures in Practice, Mental Health