“It’s not fair!” “It’s mine!” “Stop it!” Sibling interactions!
These are the lovely sounds of summer for some parents. Since summer is a time to be away from a school and spend more time at home, sibling conflicts are going to increase exponentially. Power struggles among them becomes even more nerve-wrecking. What are we going to do as parents? Obviously, we can just ship them off to a camp that requires them to sleep over! Well, you can definitely do that so the children can learn to survive in the wilderness. However, once they return home, this sibling conflict situation is back. It’s time to sit down and confront this problem.

Sibling Mindfulness

Dealing with conflict is not going to be easy. Considering all sides are emotionally heightened and everyone thinks that they are right. It takes time and practice. First of all, we need to practice mindfulness. According to Berkeley, “Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. … When we practice mindfulness, our thoughts tune into what we’re sensing in the present moment rather than rehashing the past or imagining the future…”

Secondly, we need to really understand the concept of mindfulness. As you read the definition, you notice that there are two parts to the definition. The first part is about how we focus on being more gentle in our physical surroundings and emotions. The second part is about focusing on the present moment and not the past or future. This last part is so important! We, as parents, need to help guide and remind our children, even at a very young age to be more mindful of their emotions and surroundings.

Even as adults, how many times do we tend to talk about the past or try to predict the future? Isn’t it time to be more mindful?