Sibling Relationship Lab

One way to avoid unnecessary conflicts between siblings is to take turns. But what if you can't remember whose turn it is? Here are some ideas.

Parents are often concerned about television shows or books that are a bad example to their children of how to handle relationships and the effect that might have on the sibling relationships in their home.

In this episode, we'll talk about that - how to recognize the bad examples, what story lines might actually be helpful, and one particular bad example that might not even be on your radar.

If you've got a number of kids, you might have had trouble balancing the rules you make or the rulings you hand down. Do they have to be the same for everyone in order to be fair? Also are rules just for kids? Do grown-ups (a.k.a. parents) have to keep the same rules we make for our kids? And if we don't is that hypocrisy? Let's chat about those things!

Of course you want to protect your child from physical or emotional pain. That's part of why God gave children parents - for their safety and well-being. But what do we convey to our children about the things that are most dangerous to them? What would your kids say is the worst thing that could happen?

So your kids are talking to each other about their siblings. Or they're talking to you about their siblings. Or you're talking to them about their siblings. And not all of it is positive. Does that make it gossip? Let's talk about what gossip is ... and what it isn't.

Most if not all families deal with a lying problem at some point. In this episode, we'll talk about how to understand the possible motives behind this struggle, how to encourage truth-telling, and how to talk to your other children about whether or not they can trust a person who has a history of lying.

Do you have one child who seems to be the center of most of the conflict in your home? Do you have one child who seems more difficult to parent than all the other children put together? Is there one child that you're sure draws the stares of the neighbors or the other shoppers at the grocery store? Let's talk about good siblings and bad siblings.

You know that it's important to help your children distinguish between real and pretend. You know that the need to understand the different between make-believe and "real life". But what happens when someone gets hurt or upset during pretend play. Does it still "count" even if they were just pretending?

You're listening as they tease and joke with each other. It seems harmless enough. You want them to have a sense of humor. But inevitably, one of them gets his or he feelings hurt and you've got yet another fight on your hands.

What do you do when your child says "I was just kidding!"?

Have you ever felt like something was missing in your sibling guidance to your children? They aren't technically breaking any rules. Nobody actually did anything wrong ... on purpose. But still, it seems like there's a loophole. You might be missing the positive rules, or the positive aspects of God's law.