Parenting : Nurturing Sibling Relationships Through Spending Time With Each Other
When children are busy with school and its work (not to mention, their other list of extra-curricular activities), they naturally have LESS TIME interacting with the family, especially with their siblings.
The thing is, I know of some parents who actually prefer to keep all their kids ‘engaged’ in separate activities, so they have less interactions with each other.
“The lesser they are together, the less we need to deal with quarrels and bickering between them!”, they say.
…
Of course, I too am not fond of dealing with siblings who annoy each other.
No sane moms LOVE dealing with squabbles.
(I’d get a headache if it goes on for too long, and I’d then need my sugar boost to keep my battery going! =)
BUT, having said that, I must say that siblings do not ALWAYS annoy each other.
They do giggle and get all silly. All three of them.
There are times when play well together.
(Even when they sit and read their books quietly side by side, to me … that’s also something that siblings get to do together)
If the kids have so little opportunities to interact with each other, how then can they nurture their relationship as siblings? In our family, we do let the kids have their own ‘alone time’ when they want to (eg. Reading a book alone in their room, playing with LEGO brick undisturbed). I guess, everyone of us needs that.
But.
Most other times, we are all in each other’s presence.
(I know, I’m taking risks here)
And my reason for this?
If the kids have so little opportunities to interact with each other (because they’re always so busy with their daily personal activities/internet games, etc), how then can they nurture their relationship as siblings?
…
Yes, I still truly believe that it is when we actually SPEND TIME with each other, that we learn what it is to share and care, to listen and to communicate in a friendly tone, to be patient and forgiving, to respect and to love.
Such training must and should start from home.
From the family.
