If all your kids do good in school and bring trophies and medals except one, how do you go about encouraging those who do get prizes while telling the one who does not that he/she is just as much loved and cherished as others?
Re: Preventing Sibling Rivalry
perhaps find another area where that particular child excels and give them your own award for that?
get the other siblings in on it.....make them responsible for finding something that this child should be recognized for?
Re: Preventing Sibling Rivalry
^Smart girl.
Re: Preventing Sibling Rivalry
I agree with Muzna. You can't turn someone's weakness into his or her strength, rather find that child's strength and help the child excel in that
Re: Preventing Sibling Rivalry
Team Building and Leadership 101
Re: Preventing Sibling Rivalry
I remember when my brother and I were at school...and even university...he was always the smart one. He especially excelled at maths and science and let's just say...all I can do is count and pay my bills lol. Needless to say, his grades were always much better than mine and he was MA all round brilliant at everything. I, on the other hand, was only good at the writing subjects (history, English etc). So instead of focusing on my inability to excel in maths etc, my parents just told me to try my best but at the same time recognised my strengths and praised those. I was never made to feel dumb or not as smart as my brother...I just simply accepted that he was/is better at other things and our strengths lay in different areas. And I know this was all down to my parents constant encouragement of me as well, and not just him. And at the end of the day...my brother became an engineer, I became a lawyer and the result is 2 happy parents :) But it is essential to recognise each child's potential. If one child is brilliant at everything and the other child excels at, say art or design etc, focus on their STRENGTHS while at the same time encouraging them to try their best at other things. My brother and I never had any sibling rivalry and in fact he would always help me with my maths, science etc too. The home environment and attitude which parents take definitely influences the way in which the children will handle the situation as well.