Laura Markham, Ph.D, has great tools to deal with Common Mistakes Parents Make with Siblings. Such as; We forget that we’re the role model. Naturally you get upset when your children are fighting. But when we yell, we’re training our children to yell. So before you intervene with your kids, take a breath to calm yourself first. It also helps to say a little mantra to shift your perspective, like “It’s not an emergency.” And We don’t allow feelings. When your son says “I hate her! Why did you ever have to get a baby?!” it can feel scary. But if you shut down his expression of those emotions, he doesn’t stop feeling them. He just stops expressing them. He might even stop admitting he has them, even to himself, which means he shuts the feelings out of his conscious awareness. But the emotions are still there, beyond conscious control, causing him to tease or pinch the baby, or to be obstinate with us. It’s far better to empathize: “It’s hard sometimes, having a baby in the house. I guess it makes you very angry sometimes to have to share me, and to have to be quiet so she can sleep, and to have to wait your turn. ... It can be very hard, can’t it? You can always tell me when it’s hard, and I will always understand, and help you.” . . . Chapter: Parenthood #chapterparenthood #chapterchildhood #childhoodunplugged #wildones #littlefierceones #letthembelittle #letthekids #mamadiaries #mytinymoments #worldoflittles #childhood #parenthood #motherhood #momlife #mumlife #AussieMum #Australia #Autumn #parentingwithheart #mothering #siblingrivalry #siblingcoaching #intentionalparenting #siblings #siblinghood #activechildhood #outdoorchildhood Signed, Mama G