Sibling Rivalry

I have a 10-year-old and an 8-year-old. Two boys who are all boy! They love burps and mud and Nerf guns. They love to call each other silly names. They love to tease each other. They love to tell on each other.

I can’t imagine what our house would be like without the two of them.

Sibling rivalry is such a normal part of growing up. I have two sisters and a brother. My brother and I fought all the time! In fact, the four of us still bicker and argue—all in love—when we’re together. It’s such a normal thing with siblings.

With my two boys, I never really knew if sibling rivalry would happen. My oldest uses a wheelchair. He also uses a communication device to talk. I just couldn’t imagine what it would look like for them to argue and bicker with each other.

Well, I learned pretty quickly that they fuss over the same things other kids do. For instance, if it’s bedtime and the youngest is playing around, the oldest will start squealing from his room to let us know. The youngest is always telling the oldest to stop staring at him. He also tells him to stop touching him (which is kind of hard because he really doesn’t have control over his movements!).

The oldest calls the youngest names like "stupid head" using his communication device. When the youngest is getting in trouble for not following directions, the oldest will tell us that he did what he was supposed to do. He likes to brag that he was following directions because it makes his brother mad. He also laughs at him when he gets in trouble.

So yes, we experience sibling rivalry in our home. But like just about everything else in our life, it just looks a little different. But the meaning behind it is all the same!

Here is some more useful info about siblings.