Four Simple Activities To Foster The Sibling Bond

“Having one child makes you a parent, having two makes you a referee and having more than two makes you a bouncer.” 

Did you chuckle? 

Well, most parents who have two or more children will agree that they are permanent referees at home or anywhere. Even when siblings get along with each other, fostering a nurturing bond between siblings is not an easy task. Siblings are friends, teammates, tormentors, and protectors. Many sibling relationships often oscillate between a cause of envy and an object of pride. 

Ultimately, it is up to parents to ensure that the net sibling relationship stays on the positive side. 

Why Is It Important For Siblings To Bond?

Because it is one of the most extended relationships in their lives. 

Siblings impact our lives in more ways than we care to acknowledge. Siblings are always interested in each other; however, they may never admit that. Research in the American Journal of Psychiatry suggests that poor sibling relationships in childhood may be a specific predictor of major depression in adulthood. Sibling relationships are one of the most emotionally important relationships in a  child’s development since children experience intense emotions while interacting with their siblings. 

Things To Remember While Choosing An Activity For Your Children

Here are a few things you can pay close attention to while choosing an activity for your children. 

• Choose an interactive activity that both children will enjoy to tackle the age and interest gap. 
• Leave them alone. Ensure that you are not interrupting or modifying happy play – regardless of how much better, it can get. 
• Nobody goes to sleep crying. Ensure that children resolve their conflict before bedtime. Encourage forgiveness. New day, new you. 
• Prioritise sibling relationship over objects. If they fight over an item such as a toy train, they lose the privilege of playing with it. 
• Ensure that children take turns being the leader instead of always asking the elder one to be the leader. Also, distribute responsibility equally in an age-appropriate manner among siblings to combat sibling rivalry. 

Four Fun Activities To Boost The Sibling Bond

Here are five fun activities that will strengthen the bond between your children. 

The Floor Is Lava Game

It’s a classic game that can be played anywhere and has helped siblings bond for ages. 

Requirements: Chairs, Pillows, Blankets, Tables

Preparation: Place chair, pillows, and blankets strategically at home. Ensure that children have enough room to jump around and that the objects are not too far from each other. Remove all the fragile things. 

Instructions: 

• Declare the evening as a ‘The Floor is Lava’ evening
• Randomly, one child shouts – ‘The floor is lava’ and starts counting down 5-4-3-2-1-0
• By the time the child reaches zero, every player must be off the floor. 
• Someone who is still on the floor loses the game

Pro Tip: You can make it a family game and allow children to shout out ‘the floor is lava’ at any time. It can be a fun thing your children do at home. It will help them feel closer to each other.  

Mirror Drawings

It’s an activity that can be done regardless of the age gap between children and allows each child to feel like a leader. 

Requirements: Chart paper, Sketch pens, Crayons, Watercolours, Brushes

Preparation: Fold the chart paper in the middle and allot sides to each child. 

Instructions: 

• The leader draws something on their side and the other child copies it in theirs. 
• While copying the child ensures the accuracy and symmetry of the drawing. 
• This continues until the painting is complete. 

Pro Tip: If the age gap between the siblings is on the higher side, use thicker paint straight from the bottle and encourage the children to use fingers to paint. It will allow the younger child to keep up with the older child. 

Car Paint and Wash

Children love helping out their parents in any way they can. Playing with water and helping out parents is simply awesome. 

Requirements: Toy cars or your actual car, washable crayons, and a wet washcloth for each child

Preparation: Check if the crayons are easily washable

Instructions:  

• Children can either collaborate or engage in a parallel play
• The children can draw on their toy cars or your car and then wash it off
• If you don’t find washable crayons, turn this into a car washing centre

Pro Tip: Do this once a week with other washable toys and encourage children to tidy up the place after. It will encourage the team spirit between the siblings. 

Playdough 

Children love playing with clay and mud. Here is an activity that will allow them to unleash their creativity.

Requirements: Wheat flour or maida, bowl, water, colours (edible, if possible), newspaper or a plastic sheet 

Preparation: Spread out the plastic sheet on the floor. If you are comfortable with chaos, no preparation is necessary. 

Instructions: 

• Ask your children to knead the dough
• Then ask them if they want to add colours to the dough
• Let their imagination soar
• In the end, encourage them to explain what they have made with the dough. 

Pro Tip: Encourage your children to work together and create something meaningful. You can also make it a competition – parents vs children. 

These activities are simple and easy to set up. These will help your children strengthen their bond as they learn to communicate and resolve conflicts with each other.  The best way to ensure a strong sibling bond is for you to let children know that they are loved and that their needs will be met in one way or the other. It creates psychological safety and makes more room for the siblings bond.