"My four year old hates my two year old!"

Rivalry can be tenacious relationship style between siblings and one that is hard to break. Parents must be mindful of how they treat each of their children to avoid major rifts in their relationships. However, this is easier said than done. Parents have a hard time sometimes even realizing that they are creating a feeding ground for sibling rivalry especially when . . .
 
- They themselves don't get along with their siblings,
- Witness(ed)  preferential treatment to their siblings by their parents,
- Have erroneous thoughts about child development and therefore prefer one child over the other based on gender, age, physical qualities, etc
- Have hangups about their childhood and over identify (for good or bad) with one child and therefore react differently, 

And for other reasons that can be uncovered, discussed, processed, and worked through in therapy. If you find yourself dealing with sibling rivalry in your kids, please check out my Q&A at Bundoo. Feel free to contact me for more information or to set up a therapy appointment to help you help your kids get along better.