Kasey's challenge: managing sibling rivalry
My eldest son who is five started kindergarten this year and he started Nippers this summer too. My partner, family and I have spent a lot of time and had many conversations with him to prepare. We've coached him through the transition from daycare...
My eldest son, who is five, started kindergarten this year and he started Nippers this summer too. My partner, family and I have spent a lot of time and had many conversations with him to prepare. We've coached him through the transition from daycare to big school – telling him that he is more than ready, he'll make new friends. We've bought him new uniforms. We've consoled him through Nippers losses, building up his confidence to keep trying, helping him to understand that not everybody wins. I personally think that we've all done really well in supporting him. He absolutely loves school and is excited to do Nippers again next summer. Winning, right?
That would all sound perfect BUT we also have a three-year-old, who is not so impressed. We've spent all this time focusing on my son and it's not like we have forgotten about her, but it has definitely been out of balance.
Cue sibling rivalry.
Don't get me wrong. My daughter has handled it very well, however, we have had a few hiccups. During my son's first week of school, he brought home some worksheets – my daughter ripped them up. It was a tough conversation to tell her that her brother was starting Nippers, but she couldn't join.
They've done everything together. They sleep in the same room (not because we don't have enough space, but because they love it), they play together, fight together – they are Tweedledum and Tweedledee. But now my son is off to new adventures and my daughter is left behind.
They are getting along(ish) still, but everything is a competition – "my big school is better than your boring baby school" etc etc. You get the gist.
How do you balance your attention? How do you stop the rivalry? Where did I go wrong? And how can I make it better for my third bub once it's my daughter's time to step up?
