Bickering between brothers and sisters is normal, but sometimes this can go overboard and someone ends up getting hurt by it. You can put a stop to sibling rivalry by doing the following with the children.

1. Motivate the children into supporting each other. Let the older brother help with the younger sibling with his school work and compliment him for it. This will encourage the older one to be a lot more nicer to the younger sibling.

2. Let the younger sometimes have first dibs with privileges in the house, this way, there will no be resentment of the older one gets first in everything.

3. Have an alone time with each of your child every week. Spending time with each one of them and giving them quality each lets them feel how valuable they are to you. This time alone must be done with each of the parents. Creating special bonding times with each of your child and follow this schedule to the letter.

4. Give the child time to spend time together by themselves as well. Over time they really have to get along and get to know each other. At first, it may be impossible to do, one of the kids may be reluctant. But if you keep at it, they will eventually see how much the other brother or sister can be fun to hang around with.

5. Do fun activities together as a family, regularly. Start a crafting project for example and have all of the family involved in this. It would help strengthen the bond between siblings and the whole family.

In an era of escalating gas prices, exorbitant grocery costs and sky-rocketing health care premiums, there’s one thing we’re pleased to
report that is on the rise: family time.

Reports for 2009 have shown that sales for classic, family-centric, board games – Monopoly, Scrabble, Trivial Pursuit and alike – have
risen a dramatic ten-percent since the first of the year. On the flip side, the video gaming industry has not been so lucky. Since 2008, the
sales within the video-game industry have fallen fifteen percent. With the average price per game ranging from forty dollars to one-hundred dollars, it makes sense that consumers are buying board games especially when those games generally price out less than thirty
dollars apiece.

And, because these are games built for more than one person, families and friends are spending evenings in and spending
time together playing these games.

Isn’t nice to know that there is a place we can get away from our daily stress and set aside our financial worries even if it’s just for
a little while?  And where is that place?

The same place our parents found solace from the world-outside.

The kitchen table.

Check out this related article:  Fun Things on Toddlers and Tykes

Nicky, Get Up! a new book by West Palm Beach resident Barbara Witherspoon, has been published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. of Pittsburgh. Many young readers will recognize themselves in Nicky, Get Up! and their parents are likely to as well.

On Monday morning, the battle to get Nicky out of bed and ready for school begins, and the same conversation repeats on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday as his mother tries determinedly to get him dressed and out the door. On Friday, however, Mom is in for a pleasant surprise. What is so different about this day?

Ms. Witherspoon is a native of Nassau, Bahamas, and currently resides in Florida, where she works as a nursing assistant providing hospice care. She is the mother of two boys, Nicolas and George, and in addition to writing, she enjoys spending time cooking, reading the Bible and other books, and watching movies.

Nicky, Get Up! is a paperback book with a retail price of $9.00. The ISBN is 978-1-4349-0024-1. It was published by Dorrance Publishing Co., Inc. For more information please visit our virtual press room at www.dorrancepressroom.com or our online bookstore at www.dorrancebookstore.com.

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