How to handle sibling rivalry

[whoopsiegoodlife]

Hi there,

Just looking for some tips and advice as we have a week coming up which both my DS(6) and my DH's DS(8) are spending with us.

Over the last few months we have begun to notice that the boys (who previously got along very well) are starting to snip and gripe at each other - nothing to worry about really, its not on a large scale - but I find it hard to deal with, and I am never sure how to react as this is a new thing.

Should we sit them down and ask what the problem is, why suddenly they don't get on? Or should we deal with it re-actively...if so, how? Neither myself or my DH have much experience in dealing with this.

Any thoughts would be gratefully received as I am getting a bit anxious about it. It just leaves a really bad atmosphere that I want to avoid. TIA

I don't expect anything. I just want everyone to get on

That's a big ask. Siblings usually bicker especially when they spend lots of time together like in the summer holidays. You can expect them to get along sometimes but it's totally normal to argue sometimes too.

I don't expect anything. I just want everyone to get on

That's a big ask. Siblings usually bicker especially when they spend lots of time together like in the summer holidays. You can expect them to get along sometimes but it's totally normal to argue sometimes too.

If you had to socialise with an adult on the opposite end of the extroversion spectrum, the best that you can hope for is politeness from both sides.
As long as the boys are not mean to each other (siblings can be very nasty as they know exactly what hurts the most), then you're probably doing fine. Don't feel pressure that dss gets along with his other stepbrother. There's an element of luck to whether kids will get along. Nobody is friends with all 29 other kids in their class and that's fine.

Dss had a chat with me yesterday and told me that his other step brother, who is older then him, finds him really annoying and that it hurts his feelings, bless him. I took him out just the two of us for an ice cream. So they are both feeling it!! Today they are getting on really well. Thanks for all the thoughts and advice. I did tell ds that not everyone gets on all of the time, especially when they live together, but that we still all love each other.