Introduction

The issue of sibling rivalry has been a significant concern since there has never been a study that has focused on finding out the reason for this issue. One does not choose their siblings in the same way that people choose partners and friends. Besides, one cannot choose their parents, but they make it up by sustaining one to adulthood. One important thing is that siblings can be quite influential in the development and growth of an individual. The impact in one’s life does not depend on whether they are older, younger, cool or frustrating or if they agree. Therefore the idea of sibling rivalry has a significant impact on the lives of an individual.

The major theories that cause sibling rivalry are psychoanalytic and Non-cooperative models. Based on the psychoanalytic model sibling rivalry arises from the aspect of attachment. Based on the attachment model, children get so attached to their parents or caregivers, and when a sibling comes along, they feel that the attachment is lost since the attention shifts to the new member. Therefore the conflict starts at this level. Adler’s theory looks at the issue of birth order and how it affects the growth of children (Bellamy et al., 110). In most cases, the parents would mention individual difference to children, and this is the reason that some of the siblings feel like they are sidelined. Therefore it becomes the basis of sibling rivalry.

One of the causes of sibling rivalry is the coming of the second child in the family. According to the psychoanalysis theory children often develop an attachment to their parents or caregiver. When a child is born, they develop some attachment to the parents that often leads to the older child being sidelined (Yucel et al., 130). The relationship with the older child often changes, and this leads to conflict. Often, the parents find it hard to balance the relationship between the children because at the tender age the child has so much attachment to the caregiver(Eckstein, 390). Due to this problem older child would often feel they are not getting enough from their parents and thus it becomes the reason for the rivalry.

To deal with the problem, the parents need to develop a friendly environment that can ensure that the children develop without escalating animosity. The role of the parent in the relationship of the children is to help them solve the conflict (Kratter, 174). However, in most cases, parents are known to side with younger kid thus making the older kid feel left out.  Parents should also try to avoid getting involved in the children’s conflict (Ripat, 120). In this way, they would be able to provide an environment that would limit the rivalry. Parents should limit their involvement with the parent unless the situation goes beyond the normal level. However, in typical cases, the parents should avoid getting into the conflict.

Sibling rivalry can be tiring physically, emotionally and psychologically for the parents and even amongst the child who does not like squabbles despite the persistence of their brothers or sisters. Finding ways to deal with this problem could be important in dealing with the issue at an early age and even at the later stages of the social conflict.

Works Cited

Bellamy, Martin. “Sibling rivalry, shipping innovation and litigation: Henry Burrell and the ‘Straightback Steamship’.” International Journal of Maritime History 31.1 (2019): 98-119.

Eckstein, Katharina, Jan Šerek, and Peter Noack. “And What About Siblings? A Longitudinal Analysis of Sibling Effects on Youth’s Intergroup Attitudes.” Journal of youth and adolescence 47.2 (2018): 383-397.

Kratter, Kaitlin M. “Star formation: Sibling rivalry begins at birth.” Nature 518.7538 (2015): 173.

Ripat, Pauline. “Sisterhood and Sibling Rivalry in Roman Society.” Mouseion 16.S1 (2019): 109-128.

Yucel, Deniz, Donna Bobbitt-Zeher, and Douglas B. Downey. “Quality Matters: Sibling Relationships and Friendship Nominations among Adolescents.” Child Indicators Research11.2 (2018): 523-539.