Fighting is not rivalry, but is sometimes caused by it. Sometimes children pick fights with their sibs because they are mad at themselves and there is no one else to take out their anger on. Other times, kids may pick a fight because they are mad at a friend or parent. Because they cannot hit their mother or father, the child usually uses his sibling as the punching bag. Some children fight just to see the show their parents put on when they come to yell at the guilty instigator.
Many youngsters fight just because of boredom.
The changes of a blended family may make the child angry, and he takes it on one of his sibs even though he is mad at his parents. It is always more complicated in a blended family, because there so many more people to deal with, states Lois Kalafas, a clinical social worker in Boston. Jealousy of other children plays a role in sibling rivalry. When a new child comes into a household, a rivalry has already started. It is a competition for attention.