Dad Tip of the Day: Siblings and Friends

Dad Tip of the Day: Help your kids develop strong relationships with their siblings and friends.

As parents, it is our job to help our young children grow up and thrive in many aspects of life. One of the more complicated growth areas is in inter-personal relationships with their siblings and kids their own age. Ultimately, the goal is to have your children grow up to learn healthy relationship habits and form bonds that will benefit them throughout their life.

For parents, helping your children create strong relationships starts with having and modeling healthy relationships yourself. As kids grow, parents need to learn when to help, and when to let kids figure out things on their own. I found a good article online that talks about how parents can help their children develop good inter-personal relationships: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/siblings_how_to_help_them_be_friends_forever

• Start by treating your kids fairly/equitably

• Model and coach them on emotions

• Provide opportunities to play and bond

• Role-play positive responses to conflict

• Let kids work out conflict themselves as they get older (including coaching when needed)

Helping your kids have positive relationships with siblings and friends will help them thrive throughout their life.

I appreciate you coming by today!

Brian