Sibling Rivalry

The definition of sibling: are people who share at least one parent. The definition of rivalry: condition of competitiveness: the condition or fact of competing with somebody or something.

With these two words put together you have sibling rivalry: a type of competition or animosity among brothers and sisters, blood-related or not.

Okay enough of the lesson. I guess I have endure this war related phrase enough in my life with my little sister. Now that I have kids myself, well WW1 & WW2 have nothing on my kids and their constant battle of the wits, sex, and age. My daughter is the oldest (soon to be 8) and my son is literally the baby of the group (soon to be 6). They have half brothers inbetween them who are closer to my daughters age than my sons. But just my two can stir up craziville. You have to remember we use to do this to our parental units. So we should know every battle plan up front, but we don't we get sucked back up into it all. We find ourselves screaming eventually, pulling our hair out and grabbing the closest bottle of Advil we can get our hands on... "He won't leave me alone! Shes touching my ironman! He...blah blah blah She...wah...wah...wah...it goes on and on. Then all of a sudden its quiet, I almost poke my head in the play room just to make sure they haven't killed each other... and there they are playing like good little boys and girls. In America, we generally give the continuous greeting: Welcome to Motherhood! A good tip to remember especially when you have more than one and they are one of each sex: A balance life is a happy life. I do not show favorite to either of my babies, because they both are my fav. Since they are two years apart it is easier to give them both the same rules and chore list. Both are responsible of cleaning their beds and rooms up. Putting their own clothes away, helping with clearing the table after dinner, and working together as a team. We have been doing the piggy bank system as well. It seems to be working, so maybe peace and harmony is not too far from being a part of my life....To other moms out there with more than one child I feel your pain. Just remember to WHOO-SAH (relax)