At Home Favorite – Sibling Relationships

AT HOME

This week on At Home, we’re replaying one of our favorite episodes, Sibling Relationships. This isn’t just one of our favorite episodes, its one of yours too. We’ve gotten great feedback on this episode and hope you’ll enjoy listening to it again, or for the first time.
@brebuskeyleads our discussion, and we start with stories of our own, sometimes rocky, relationships growing up with brothers and sisters. Good or bad, those experiences have shaped our desire to help our children develop close relationships with one another.
There is a lot of laughter in this episode. But there is also honest sharing about how exhausting it can sometimes be to really invest in helping our kids learn to talk to one another kindly, and navigate disagreements. We also offer lots of practical ideas for strengthening the bond between siblings. Be sure to check the show notes for the books, blog posts, and other info we mention.
And stay tuned to the very end, for a new “quick question round”. Or not so quick question round, actually. It’s a fun one!

Show Notes

Jennifer Naraki-
The Home Beautiful by JR Miller

Greta Eskridge-
Blog Post: Using audio books to nurture sibling relationships: http://maandpamodern.com/for-the-love-of-audio-books/

Brianne Buskey-
Practical tips for nurturing good relationships between your kids.

• Don’t allow joking and teasing that is one-sided and hurtful to the other person. Playful banter is so fun but teasing and one-sided joking is just hurtful.
• Teach your children that when someone seriously says “No.” you stop what you’re doing right away and assess the situation.
• Have them share a bedroom. Does this even need explaining?
• Help them learn how to share and also how to have boundaries with their own possessions.
• Teach them to respect other peoples property.
• Encourage common interests (nature outings, hobbies, activities, books). Your children don’t need to have all the same interest but common interests and hobbies can form friendly bonds.
• Talk kind and be kind to one another. I think we all say this to our children “Would you talk/act that way if you were talking to your friend?”.

Have your little ones memorize this poem, it makes for some lighthearted banter when you’re struggling with a rough day due to laziness or boredom.

The Camel’s Hump
By Rudyard Kipling

The Camel’s hump is an ugly lump
Which well you may see at the Zoo;
But uglier yet is the hump we get
From having too little to do.

Kiddies and grown-ups too-oo-oo,
If we haven’t enough to do-oo-oo,
We get the hump-
Cameelious hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

We climb out of bed with a frouzly head,
And a snarly-yarly voice.
We shiver and scowl and we grunt and we growl
At our bath and our boots and our toys;

And there ought to be a corner for me
(And I know’ there is one for you)
When we get the hump-
Cameelious hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

The cure for this ill is not to sit still,
Or frowst with a book by the fire;
But to take a large hoe and a shovel also,
And dig till you gently perspire;

And then you will find that the sun and the wind,
And the Djinn of the Garden too,
Have lifted the hump-
The horrible hump-
The hump that is black and blue!

I get it as well as you-oo-oo-
If I haven’t enough to do-oo-oo!
We all get hump-
Cameelious hump-
Kiddies and grown-ups too!