From TODAY, Voices
Wednesday August 20, 2008
By Dr James Dobson
Sibling rivalry was responsible for the first murder on record when Cain killed Abel. And it’s been going on at a furious pace ever since. While conflicts among siblings occur in every family, it is possible to lessen the antagonism and create a more friendly atmosphere at home.
The key is for parents to enforce a reasonable set of boundaries among warring factions. Fences make good neighbours. Law and order help people get along with one another. If the man next door and I lived in a rural village where there are no policemen, courts or city ordinances, we would be more likely to have conflicts in that lawless environment then in a society where the laws are enforced.
And so it is with children in a family. When the older child can make life miserable for the younger one, or when the younger one can break up the toys and mess up the things of his big brother or sister, then hatred is a natural outgrowth of that lawless environment they live in.
I strongly recommend that parents set reasonable rules for harmonious living at home, and then enforce those rules with the full weight of their authority. Only then can children live peacefully together.
Wednesday August 20, 2008
By Dr James Dobson
Sibling rivalry was responsible for the first murder on record when Cain killed Abel. And it’s been going on at a furious pace ever since. While conflicts among siblings occur in every family, it is possible to lessen the antagonism and create a more friendly atmosphere at home.
The key is for parents to enforce a reasonable set of boundaries among warring factions. Fences make good neighbours. Law and order help people get along with one another. If the man next door and I lived in a rural village where there are no policemen, courts or city ordinances, we would be more likely to have conflicts in that lawless environment then in a society where the laws are enforced.
And so it is with children in a family. When the older child can make life miserable for the younger one, or when the younger one can break up the toys and mess up the things of his big brother or sister, then hatred is a natural outgrowth of that lawless environment they live in.
I strongly recommend that parents set reasonable rules for harmonious living at home, and then enforce those rules with the full weight of their authority. Only then can children live peacefully together.
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