Need Ways to Avoid Sibling Rivalry with kids This summer?

Has sibling rivalry among your kids – made your summer hotter—answer- involve extended family? It does take a village.

Especially in summer, when kids are out of school, if Mom’s and Dad’s reach out to nearby family, parents can downgrade present and even future sibling rivalry and strife. This can be an investment in helping your kids avoid midlife brother and sister “ I Hate You” stories http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSVriDZluBostories.

Family, like aunts, uncles, grandparents, great-grandparents-or any blood or non-blood relative or close friends -can help you bear the heavy load of parenting. Especially engaging the support of older family members like grandparents (who today can be pretty vital sixty-year-olds) can be a great hand up with this heavy lift.

Extended family can help with one sibling while Mom or Dad pay special attention to another child. Family can pitch in by having one sibling spend a summer vacation week at their home, take them to special places, go camping with them. It does not have to be expensive –just one to one.  If another sibling could go to a grandparent’s or another extended family member’s home that same week, this will go the distance for making siblings each feel special and reduce competition.

This extended family involvement will allow you share the burden of child rearing and pay equal attention to kids. In today’s’ strapped economy and single parent environment, this is a great bank to borrow from – thus reducing the added deficit of sibling rivalry.