Introduction
Siblings rivalry always occurs among siblings, this happens when there is feelings jealousy, competition within each other, siblings rivalry is inevitable in every family in fact I will say that is a spice of the family life.
But in some cases especially in a polygamous family sibling rivalry have some negative effects.
Life experience.
I had a friend who was born in a polygamous family the father had three wives and the three wives had five children each making them 15 siblings, at some point the older ones felt they were more important than the younger ones and the parents especially the dad had much love for the younger ones because they were still young.
This conflict hit this family so hard that the older ones that are having bad motive for the younger ones in fact it gets to the extent that they had to poison each other and they lost three of their siblings this was a terrible situation.
Causes of siblings rivalry.
There are many causes of siblings rivalry and this include parental attention, when a parent give special attention to one child such attention stairs up jealousy among the siblings, also difference in age also causes rivalry because the older ones will always expect respect from the younger ones and this often leads to resentment.
Also change in the family like when there is divorce and remarriage resulting to siblings from different mother or different father result to rivalry.
Lack of good finance can also lead to siblings rivalry because most times gift or food might not get to everyone this stairs of the Spirit of possessiveness.
Personal experience.
While growing up I was the older and the eldest one among my siblings so I always wanted to be respected and my younger ones were male children and male children always have this headship spirit in their mind so this often cause fight among us and my mother would always say "leave them they are younger ones, she always tell me don't you know that you're older than them".
I grew up in a family where we had little resources sometimes there is little or no food for everyone so my parents will always expect me to wait and watch while my younger ones enjoy the little food at home, funny enough after eating this food this boys will not want to do anything, all the house chores will be left for me who never eat and this was the major factor that caused rivalry.
When will become adults we went our separate ways but same siblings rivalry always come up when there is family meeting I always expect them to respect me as the older one but them as men that they are won't want to do that so that is always fight in our house even till tomorrow.
Negative effects of siblings rivalry.
Sibling rivalry has some negative influence in the family in some cases it strength relationship among siblings there by contributing to behavioral issue like children grow up becoming more aggressive and disobedient to parents because they feel they are not loved and resentment will also grow and decrease emotional intimacy.
All this can affect parents as they see their children have less or no affection for each other, this increases their stress both emotionally and physically because they will definitely work hard to fix this.
How to manage siblings rivalry.
Parents can employ some tips that will help reduce the negative influence of siblings rivalry.
Parents can create rules and guidelines in the family and enforce consequences to anyone that fails to obey those rules this will help to improve communication in the family.
Parents or caregivers can also help the child to create his or her own interest or talent and not feel superior to the siblings because of his or her talent.
Parents should also be a role model in resolving conflicts and showing respect to each other in the family, they should try as much as they can to avoid comparison or favoritism among the children.
When there is little resources or few toys they should share it among everyone because a fair distribution will make them or feel loved and appreciated.
Parents should always encourage teamwork in the family because this will have to increase the love among the children and help them appreciate each other, yes it is very important for parents to try their best to spend quality time with each of their child because this will build the Bond of communication.
Summary
Sibling rivalry is common and normal but it can be dangerous if not managed that is why in most cases parents are advice to seek professional helps from therapist and counselors to avoid further danger.