@drwilloughjenkins: I’m a child psychiatrist, and this is one of the most common things parents ask me to help sort out: is this normal sibling fighting, or is something more serious going on? Here’s the difference. Normal sibling rivalry goes both ways. Each kid starts something sometimes, it’s usually about something specific, and it blows over. Bullying only goes one direction. The same kid is always the target, and it often escalates instead of settling down. The biggest sign parents miss is fear. A kid who avoids being alone with a sibling, dreads coming home, or seems anxious around them, that’s not rivalry. That’s a kid protecting themselves. The research backs up taking this seriously. A national study of more than 3,500 kids found that sibling aggression, even one incident, even a mild one, was linked to real mental health distress, comparable to peer bullying. (Tucker, Finkelhor, Turner, & Shattuck, Pediatrics, 2013) If it’s mutual and it blows over, that’s a normal part of growing up. If one kid is always the target and afraid, don’t tell them to work it out between themselves. That’s the one time “figure it out” is the wrong answer. Save this, then use it to actually watch your kids’ next fight instead of just breaking it up. Source: Tucker, Finkelhor, Turner, & Shattuck, Pediatrics, 2013 #parenting #Siblings #parentingtips #parentingadvice #parentingteens

Dr Willough Psychiatrist

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Thursday 27 August 2026 18:18:24 GMT