I was at a Mom's Night Out a couple weeks ago with some moms from our homeschool association. They got to talking about sibling rivalry and what a big problem it was. I was sitting quietly, listening. My good friend, Lis, pipes up and says: Ginger, do your kids ever fight?
Ha! I thought that was funny, but the truth is I really don't have the problems the other moms were complaining about. And the answer is simple. We have a bunch of kids. Adjusting to 7 children from 3 was really hard, I won't lie to you. But some changes were a real blessed surprise. Two things I noticed after several months of being a "big family":
1) My kids absolutely never complain of boredom.
2) Sibling rivalry decreased significantly from when we only had 3 kids.
Not that we never have issues, mind you. I give gentle reminders throughout the day: "Was that a kind thing to say?", "Are you being a blessing?" and "You need to make it right with your brother/sister." But because there are a lot more playmates available, there is less to fight about and more cooperation on a regular basis.
My advice if you have sibling rivalry problems is: Have more kids!
4 comments:
I love this advice!! :)
I agree 150% :) HeeHee.
THANK YOU!! I've really hoped that will be the case when we add more to our crew, and it's nice to know that's how it worked for you. My extended family thinks I'm crazy, but I honestly think adding more kids will be LESS demand on me for the little irritating things - the constant need for entertainment, the bickering, the tattling... We only have 2 now, but I found that theory to work when we had 2 foster kids for a week, so I am still very hopeful. (We want to add 3 in the next year or so.)
I totally agree with you. I feel outside the conversation when other ladies are talking of such things.
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