Wherever you are in a public place like a railway station, airport or temple or any random place with a sizable crowd and families staying put, take a look to see children of age 4 to 5, and how they deal with their younger siblings below age 2.
Most likely one could spot sibling rivalry or abuse of the elder one. This so happens because of the sense of insecurity and losing importance by the elder child's parents, especially that of the mother's.
The elder child feels he or she lost the attention and love and begins to feels the rivalry against the root cause, the new baby which now has become the center of attraction.
The elder child feels it's territory encroached and feels being competed upon for the mother's lap, mother's attention, and being given importance by several others in the family.
A child of two or three or four has no maturity to realize that the new source of competition is actually his or her own belonging.
As the younger one matures being subject to ill treatment or physical abuse of the elder one, the rivalry intensifies in an array of issues such as belongings of toys etc, as the siblings get mature with age, the boundaries get wider and more hatred gets developed in various aspects.
How to tackle?
Parents should well prepare the elder one mentally with regards to the new arrival and create a sense of welcoming home of the new baby.
Once the new one arrives, the parent, particularly the mother must spend enough time with the elder baby as well.
Depending upon the age, the elder child should be given very small and basic responsibility to care for the young one.
The sense of togetherness must be inculcated at a very young age which will reduce the friction of sibling rivalry.
Write back to me in the comments section below.
Parenting is an art! How ready are you, as a parent?
Love,
No comments:
Post a Comment