Competition among siblings

I have been meaning to write about this for a while, but with two boys that are 10 and 6, the competition among siblings--especially brothers--is one thing at the forefront of what we as parents and me as a father is dealing with--for seemingly everything. If it's not video games, it's vying for attention, racing to the car first out of the stores, thrusting school papers in our faces to show who got the better grade, seeing who can finish eating the fastest, you name it--it's a competition.

I understand this is natural and healthy competition is a good thing for anyone--especially siblings. But when is enough enough with competing? I mean, I guess I let things go in good spirits for a while, but when I hear the voices raising in a stressful and argumentative way, I tend to cut it off as much I can. But sure enough--minutes later--something else seems to come up that they are trying to one-up the other.

So, what do other parents do with this? I would be interested to see what levels some things get taken to and what everyone thinks the limits are--and at what age.

TAGS: Being A Dad, Boys, Brothers, Competition Among Siblings, Fatherhood, Parental Responsibilities, Parenthood, Parenting, Parenting Advice, Parenting Styles, Parents
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