Information on sibling rivalry Information on sibling rivalry Anyone who has more than one child knows that sibling rivalry is a thorn in every parent's side. How big of a thorn and how hard it is to remove can vary according to how you deal with the situation. It is a part of human nature to be competitive with - and even envious of others. A competitive attitude can be healthy and beneficial if it doesn't go to an extreme. With siblings the competition starts at birth.
Many parents tend to ignore it and some unfortunately exacerbate the situation.
Praise each child equally at all times. Even if you said this in confidence, you are still dealing with children and that fact will be used sometime in the future probably when the siblings are arguing about their respective superiority. Another mistake many parents make is comparing their children. Never, never compare them as no two people, even identical twins, are exactly alike. If one child is a start basketball player and the other has two left feet, steer the non-athletic child towards other activities, perhaps playing a musical instrument.