Home › Everyday Parenting › Siblings

Siblings: An Introduction

While many of the same principles apply to both single-child and multiple-child parenting, there are several issues that parents of one child don’t have to deal with. Not only will you have to manage your relationships with multiple children, but you’ll also have to help your children relate to each other. Sometimes you’ll deal with rivalries, arguments, and fights . . . and sometimes you’ll have two inseparable best friends. That’s the nature of parenting siblings. And while it can seem like a really tough job, it can also be very rewarding.

Did You Know?

  • Among parents with three or more children, 65 percent say that sibling rivalry makes their job more difficult.1
  • Sibling relationships can be one of the closest and most intimate relationships a person has throughout his or her life.2

Whether you have 2 kids or 10, many of the principles remain the same. Raising siblings, just like raising a single child, takes patience, commitment, a strong support network, and a lot of love. Keep reading to find ways to improve your relationships with your children, as well as improve their relationships with each other.

Frequent Questions and Concerns about Siblings

Find answers to frequent questions and concerns about siblings.

Sibling Relations

One day, your kids might be each other’s best friends. The next day, they could be worst enemies. And they’ll be back to being inseparable the next day. Read on for some tips on encouraging positive relationships between your children.

Resolving Sibling Conflicts

Fights with siblings are different from fights with friends. Find out how to help your kids get through fights with their brothers or sisters.

Playing Favorites

Parental love is an infinite, renewable resource. It may not feel that way, however, when your personality is more compatible with one child’s than another’s.

Siblings: Summary and Next Steps

Find valuable resources for helping you raise siblings.

—————

1. Eugene Roehlkepartain, Peter Scales, Stacey Rude, and Jolene Roehlkepartain, Building Strong Families: A Preliminary Survey on What Parents Need to Succeed (Chicago, IL: YMCA of the USA and Minneapolis, MN: Search Institute, 2002).

2. Brenda Volling, “Sibling Relationships,” in Well-Being: Positive Development across the Life Course, eds. Marc Bornstein, Lucy Davidson, Corey Keyes, Kristin Moore, and the Center for Child Well-being (Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum), 205-220.

0