Peaceful Parent, Happy Siblings

The follow-up to Peaceful Parent, Happy Kids — or a slightly different take on the same material. For siblings.

The beginning of the book restates a lot of what was in Happy Kids. Toward the middle Dr. Markham starts looking at new, sibling-specific behaviors that might arise.

Really, the main thrusts of the book are:

  • Don’t compare your kids.
  • Don’t foster competition between your kids (make them team up against YOU).
  • Play. Because kids love play.
  • Make sure you have structured time together and apart.
  • Play.
  • Make your home a blame-free zone.
  • Create family rituals.
  • Play.
  • Foster a growth mindset in your kids.
  • Don’t force your kids to share. Let them take self-directed turns.
  • Be a coach, not an enforcer.
  • Oh…and play.

The last half of the book is about prepping your child for a new sibling, then helping them deal with the toddler transitions as their little sibling starts to steal or destroy everything. We’re through those stages in our household, so I didn’t read those chapters.

All-in-all, I had a much harder time reading this than I did Happy Kids. I feel like most of the book was summarized with the action steps sprinkled throughout, which are the pieces of information I prefer, anyway. Actionable!