Should our children be brought up to know how to respect one another? (Sibling Rivalry!)

Member Name: mummy2twogirls

Product:	Sibling Rivalry!
Date:	08/01/09 (24 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Siblings that get on with each other

Disadvantages: Siblings that don't

Growing up with four sisters and one brother sibling rivalry never really occurred in our household. From a very young age i was taught and so was the rest of my brothers and sisters to respect and share what we had with one another.
We had our up's and downs what family doesn't and sometimes we used to have fall outs between us but that was rare. Whenever it was someones birthday yes i think we all used to get a little jealous in our heads that one of our sisters/brothers was getting all the attention that day and a stack of presents, but we never showed it and spent the day together as a family. Our mum used to get each of us who it wasn't our birthday a tiny little present which was normally a bar of chocolate, a book or something similar which we where very grateful for.

My oldest sister is 27 and my youngest is 10 so there is a 17 year age gap between us all from top to bottom. I am the third eldest and my brother is in between me and my older sister. We used to take out three younger sisters under our wings when mum and dad where at work or busy and play with them, learn with them etc and make them feel part of the family.

We all used to be grateful for everything that we received because we all knew that money was tight , i didn't mind having my older sisters hand me downs at all, by the time i was 12-13 she had become old enough to work and had left school so was able to buy her own clothing, which i loved sneaking into her room and seeing what i could borrow because we where more or less the same size.

Our mum and dad used to treat us all the same and their was no favoritism, although because my brother was the only brother my dad used to do more things with him so he didn't feel left out, it was only simple things like mowing the lawn or taking him to my dads garage which he was self employed and used to repair cars, on Saturdays or after school my brother used to go and help him out. We sisters didn't mind at all and used to spend that time helping mum out in the kitchen baking or gardening.

Being a mum myself now of two girls who are aged just on year apart i am very keen on promoting on bond between them to have the ability of share and learn together. I don't want them to grow up being jealous of one another so i treat them equally. They both have 'me' time with mummy and daddy and they do near enough everything together. Of course i want them to have their own independence in life but at the moment they are slightly to young for that.

I encourage them to share with one another, love each other and to care for each other. I was brought up in that respect and i want my children to do the same, other's may have different views on my opinion and we are all entitled to our own opinion, but i want whats best for everyone and most of all a happy,simple, life.

Summary: We should all know the meaning of respect