I know about sibling rivalry. I’m the youngest of four with two sisters and a brother. My nephew who is closest in age was born two weeks after I turned eight. He grew up with me like he was my little brother. I’ve watched sibling rivalries with my friends and my nieces and nephews. My sister has worked hard to minimize the rivalry between her four children and assure that they’d be friends all their lives.
Siblings compete with other for a lot of things. The most common one is trying to get the most attention from the parents. When the child is the only child there’s no one to compete with for love and attention. My husband is an only child of only children. When he first met my whole family it was a bit of culture shock to him. I don’t know how he would have handled it if he had met all my cousins and their families too.
We’ve had a lot of rivalry problems with Jessie. It’s understandable. She’s had to live with seven different siblings in her home since she came to us. Everything she’s felt has been magnified by the fear that she won’t be staying because six children left. All of Jessie’s rivalries are age appropriate even if we’re not happy with the behavior.
We have a new rivalry brewing. Emily has started actively competing too. She’s 14 months and exerting herself. She and Jessie keep going for the same toys. Jessie is bigger and older so she usually wins in that arena.
There’s a new behavior. Both girls are constantly on Mommy or Daddy. Emily did not want Jessie to get near me today. Every time Jessie stood at my feet or tried to sit on my lap, Emily tried to push her away. This year should be interesting.