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Quibbling Sibling Rivalry by Carol Wells

I love my children. I know they love me in return. I like to think they love each other ... but then times arise where such a thought may be debatable.

When my children experience sibling rivalry, it is not a calm moment in the household. You will get the usual fare of eye rolls punctuating someone's comments, finger points of whom is at fault for whatever grievance has occurred, and even tears of anger.

You will also overhear verbal zingers shared at a furious pace between the combatants. Some of these standard, time-tested, ones passed from one generation to the next. You know, like:

• · "You wouldn't know the difference about (whatever) if it stood right in front of you...",
• · "You knew you shouldn't have touched (whatever) to begin with so you did it on purpose...", or
• · "You think you got away with something, but I will remember this until the day I die...".

I have noticed, in relation to the latter comment, the said transgression forgotten. At least it is until the said "guilty" party has the audacity to attempt something similar later.

This is somewhat expected when you have children close in age. Unless your last name is Cleaver or Brady, that is, where 'real life' is a script read for a camera. Otherwise, battles and verbal warfare will erupt between siblings.

Two of my children, one day, went around and around about something trivial. They were picking up their toys and stuff but one of them felt not "pulling her weight". Naturally, since siblings were involved, this erupted into "war" about said child's laziness. This, typical in nature concerning this particular style of arguing, quickly spread to a detailed listing of other claimed faults the "lazy" child felt to possess.

My then "lazy" 6-year-old stood her ground while listening to a listing of her perceived flaws. "Oh well, you still have to like me 'cause I'm your sister," she quipped.

"Who says," her 10-year-old older sister asked without pausing in picking up toys.

"Mom," the 6-year-old replied while replied with a shrug of her shoulders. "And God."

This had the 10-year-old stop what she was doing to turn around to give her younger sibling a daggered-look. "Look, Miss Smarty Pants, I didn't ask God for a sister, He just went ahead and gave me one. I guess He thought you just might learn something from me; like how to act human."

My other children stopped dead in their tracks. They held their breaths while waiting to see how the younger one would take this comeback. Would she burst into tears? Would she run crying to Mommy? Would she break the non-hitting rule? Alternatively, would she return a zinger of her own?

"Well, He must've goofed. In order for me to learn from you ... don't you have to start teaching," she asked innocently.

The older one, usually quick with comebacks, caught off guard and a tense moment passed but she could not think of anything to utter other than a growling noise. She turned her back to the "lazy" child and went back to work.

This was not the first time these particular two went 'around and around' about being sisters or just being in the same room. It started a long time back; I reckon all the way back to the day we brought the younger one home from the hospital. At first, she was a cute little thing lying with this toothless smile bestowed to anyone who passed by her . . . but then she grew. Moreover, this was something the slightly older one could not reconcile with at times. Resulting with the two children having periodic bouts of sibling rivalry punctuated with verbal zinger moments.

I would be concerned, as a parent, except that I noticed something else that started a long time back between the two children. I reckon it started all the way back on that day when we brought the younger one home from the hospital.

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