I have two boys, aged 4 (5 in October) and almost 2, and they are constantly bickering, fighting over toys and acting jealous of each other.
I know sibling rivalry is normal, but it's pretty much constant!
The jealousy and competitiveness is probably 2/3 on the part of my 4 year old. DS2 cannot play with anything without DS1 coming to take the toy off him - it's toys he doesn't even want to play with, he only wants them because DS2 has them.
DS2 has a slightly more laid back personality and will usually give it up when we say to wait your turn, but DS1 is like a dog with a bone and just will not back off DS2 and wait his turn.
If I give either of them a hug, the other one runs over and tries to push the other one off so they can have me to themselves.
If we ever do something both of them will yell, 'Me first!' and pack a sad if they have to go second.
They'll play together nicely for about 10% of the time, but it always ends in crying after about 5 minutes. DS2 talks very well for his age and is quite physical so it's not so much that he can't keep up with DS1 although some games break down because he can't understand the rules DS1 makes up.
Is it because they are both boys and they both seem to have quite competitive natures? Are we doing something wrong? We try to give them equal amounts of attention but sometimes I feel we tell DS1 off a little more because he's old enough to understand better about not hitting or taking toys than DS2 is.
I'm just getting fed up and a little sad that they don't seem to get along and we can barely have a moment of nice family time because they both want to be first, both want the same toy, etc, etc.
I'm pregnant with a third baby and I'm scared it's going to make the dynamic worse!! The age gap will be roughly the same as between DS1 and DS2 and I'm worried about this as I feel the age gap between the two (2 years and 8 months) is part of the problem. They aren't quite close enough in age to play the same games at the ages they are - I can't for the life of me think why any would want that 2-3 year age gap that is so popular and here we are doing it for the second time. Argh!!
I know sibling rivalry is normal, but it's pretty much constant!
The jealousy and competitiveness is probably 2/3 on the part of my 4 year old. DS2 cannot play with anything without DS1 coming to take the toy off him - it's toys he doesn't even want to play with, he only wants them because DS2 has them.
DS2 has a slightly more laid back personality and will usually give it up when we say to wait your turn, but DS1 is like a dog with a bone and just will not back off DS2 and wait his turn.
If I give either of them a hug, the other one runs over and tries to push the other one off so they can have me to themselves.
If we ever do something both of them will yell, 'Me first!' and pack a sad if they have to go second.
They'll play together nicely for about 10% of the time, but it always ends in crying after about 5 minutes. DS2 talks very well for his age and is quite physical so it's not so much that he can't keep up with DS1 although some games break down because he can't understand the rules DS1 makes up.
Is it because they are both boys and they both seem to have quite competitive natures? Are we doing something wrong? We try to give them equal amounts of attention but sometimes I feel we tell DS1 off a little more because he's old enough to understand better about not hitting or taking toys than DS2 is.
I'm just getting fed up and a little sad that they don't seem to get along and we can barely have a moment of nice family time because they both want to be first, both want the same toy, etc, etc.
I'm pregnant with a third baby and I'm scared it's going to make the dynamic worse!! The age gap will be roughly the same as between DS1 and DS2 and I'm worried about this as I feel the age gap between the two (2 years and 8 months) is part of the problem. They aren't quite close enough in age to play the same games at the ages they are - I can't for the life of me think why any would want that 2-3 year age gap that is so popular and here we are doing it for the second time. Argh!!