What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood

What Fresh Hell: Laughing in the Face of Motherhood


Episode 16: Sibling Rivalry

May 10, 2017

 
 
Sibling rivalry: harmless rite of passage? Or everything that made you the neurotic adult you are today?
The inevitable part of it seems clear. Dr. Ron Taffel says siblings are like lion cubs, born with an intense and innate need to tussle. But if that fighting it’s normal, it isn’t always benign.
So when should a parent step in? And what works when she finally does?
 
Here’s some links that we discuss in this episode:

*  from Anahad O’Connor for NYT Well blog: When the Bully is a Sibling
* some good stop-the-quibbling advice from Dr. Sears: “ignore small, address big” 
* from Peter Toohey for The Atlantic: Sibling Rivalry: A History

Is the sibling in-fighting driving you batty at your house? Did you survive some memorable squabbling in your own childhood home? Tell us in the comments!