Apologies
It's a fact of life that siblings don't always get along with each other. Sometimes there's a real problem; other times it's a case of "He's breathing my air!" We don't always handle anger and disappointment appropriately. We get hurt, either physically or emotionally.
Sibling rivalry is real; however, it doesn't have to prevent us from having happy and successful families. One of the keys is to teach our children how to get along with each other when they're very young. As we teach them to love and support each other, and to be genuinely happy when good things happen for anyone, the need for one-up-man-ship disappears. It is possible to have peace and harmony in your home.
One thing that helped me while raising our children was to refer often to Mosiah 4:14-15, which states
I'm sorry for _______________.
It was wrong because _____________.
In the future I will ________________.
Will you forgive me?
I feel ______ about ________ because ___________.
These are just a few of the ideas we tried to help establish peace in our home. What works for you?
Sibling rivalry is real; however, it doesn't have to prevent us from having happy and successful families. One of the keys is to teach our children how to get along with each other when they're very young. As we teach them to love and support each other, and to be genuinely happy when good things happen for anyone, the need for one-up-man-ship disappears. It is possible to have peace and harmony in your home.
One thing that helped me while raising our children was to refer often to Mosiah 4:14-15, which states
And ye will not suffer your children that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye suffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and quarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the evil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.
But ye will teach them to walk in the ways of truth and soberness; ye will teach them to love one another, and to serve one another.
I asked for THEIR assistance in helping ME keep this commandment, to not allow my children to quarrel. It helped.
One summer we had each child make a list of ways their siblings could serve them, with the object that if I heard quarreling - i.e. evidence that we not showing love to each other - the consequence was to serve them, with the idea that serving one other would help increase love. That idea worked also, and that summer the noise level from arguing was greatly diminished.
We also used standard statements like the following to help solve disagreements. These were taught to me by my parents. They're corny, and may feel awkward, but they're also effective. Learning and practicing skills to help communicate and negotiate is important for children and adults.
It was wrong because _____________.
In the future I will ________________.
Will you forgive me?
I feel ______ about ________ because ___________.
These are just a few of the ideas we tried to help establish peace in our home. What works for you?
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