The Beginnings of Sibling Conflict
I'm the mom/judge in this house
“I don’t want Saioa to bother me right now”
“No, you can’t have this!”
“Saioa wants my ____ ( fill in the blank: crayon, snack, stuffed animal….)
These are statements I hear often from Serophina. Saioa is old enough now to know how to get a rise out of her sister and she exercises her right to do that frequently. Serophina, being the natural drama queen that she is, almost always provides a big reaction to whatever her sister has done….. and Saioa loves it.
Take for example, the art of pulling your sisters hair. For an outsider, when they see a one year old pulling their older sister’s hair, they might think that she’s just a baby and doesn’t know what she’s doing so it can’t be on purpose. In reality, that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Saioa knows exactly how to push her sisters buttons and sometimes I think she does things to Serophina for her own entertainment!
We’ve explained to Serophina that the bigger her reaction the more Sai will do it. Serophina is a great big sister but she’s only four. So yes, she overreacts a little sometimes and we have to explain to her that if she doesn’t want her baby sister to bother her, there are things she can do, like move from the floor to the couch where Saioa can’t reach her, or keep her room door closed so Sai won’t toddle in there, destroying whatever lego building she’s created.
It’s a delicate balance. We don’t want Serophina to always be the one that has to give in, or give up a toy just because she’s older. And sometimes we have to tell Saioa no, she understands what that means and usually complies with minimal protest.
I have to admit though, it is funny watching them interact sometimes. Babies, their cuteness hides how clever they really are!
How to you handle sibling conflict?
