Tips for Building Your Kids’ Sibling Bond

1. Encourage Cooperative Activities

Encouraging your kids to do activities together helps them strengthen their collaborative skills. When kids work toward a common goal together, they lean on each other for support and appreciate each other’s contributions.

Whether they’re working on a fun activity like putting together a puzzle or completing chores, ask your kids to work together. Then praise specific actions they take for good teamwork, such as taking turns, sharing, or helping someone complete a task.

2. Give Each Kid Their Own Space

As with every relationship, it’s important for kids to have their own space, both physically and mentally. No matter how much your children love each other, at some point, they will need time apart. Whether your kids want to spend time alone or with friends without their siblings, let them have that time to recharge and explore.

If your kids share a bedroom, prioritize simple solutions that help them each have their own space in the room. For example, when choosing a bunk bed, think about how to make each bed your child’s personal space. You can do this by helping them choose their own bedsheets, letting them personalize with toys, or helping them hang wall art by their bed.

3. Celebrate Each Child Equally

An important tip for building your kids’ sibling bond is to celebrate your children equally. Each child is unique, and rather than compare children’s abilities or interests, it’s better to appreciate who they are and encourage your kids to do the same for each other.

When children have different ideas about what’s fun or interesting, it can create some tension when deciding what to do together. Teach children to take turns choosing what they should do, or help them come up with interests they can all enjoy.