In a family where there are several children, parents often face the problem of childhood jealousy and rivalry between children. With the advent of a second child, the first-born often feels pushed out of his privileged position. Previously, he received all the attention and love of his parents, but with the birth of his second child everything changed. In addition, the newly born baby requires more attention and care than the older child. At such a moment, the first signs of jealousy may appear in the behavior of the older brother and sister. The first signs of childhood jealousy are direct aggression and an unfriendly attitude of the older child in relations with the baby, attempts to attract attention to oneself: refusing to eat, asking to drink from a bottle, thereby proving that he is also still small. An older child may even begin to wet the sheets, although he has long been accustomed to neatness. Negativism and increased tearfulness often appear. The most common mistake parents make in this case is that parents react to these actions with criticism, begin to scold or laugh at the jealous child. Not taking into account his sincere feelings and devaluing them. The child begins to feel misunderstanding, guilt, humiliation in response to this attitude of the parents, feelings of isolation and rejection intensify. A knowledgeable parent will never scold, criticize and ridicule the child for jealousy. If you look at this problem from the other side, then in the younger brother or sister, for The older child has a great development resource. Parents can involve the older child in the role of parents in caring for and caring for the baby. In this case, feelings of isolation and jealousy decrease and the ability to show care develops. But you shouldn’t overdo it with responsibilities, remarks - “You’re older!” and “You must...” cause strong antipathy towards the baby. This must be done carefully and wisely without violating the freedoms of the older child. Involving him in caring for the baby should not become torture for him, but should make it clear that his role in the family is more significant than before. It is important that the older child has more “adult rights” than a newborn baby: goes to bed later, longer play, choose sweets in the store, etc. The child must understand that being big is a privilege, adulthood is an honor. And the attention of parents can be won by “adult” deeds and good deeds. Praise him for his initiative to do good deeds. No matter how difficult it is to care for a baby, parents should definitely find time to communicate and play with their older child every day. Moreover, at such moments, the attention and love of the parents should be undivided (without the presence of the baby, without neighbors dropping in to visit or milk running on the stove). Children do not need the same love, they dream of being loved in a special way, not like everyone else. Parents must behave in such a way that each child considers himself loved. How to achieve this? Show your love to whoever is closest to you at the moment. If a child feels that his parents love him, then he has no need to be nervous and fight to win their attention and time. Children's jealousy can also be weakened if you never compare children with each other. Try to strengthen the children's attachment to each other. Consult and take into account the opinion of your older child when choosing and buying a gift for your baby (even if the eldest is a preschooler). Help your little one prepare a surprise for his older brother or sister. Praise for joint “peaceful” games, organize family events in which children should be in “one bunch.” Remember, the more children you have in your family, the richer your family life should be. Rivalry between brothers and sisters is an almost inevitable and partly natural crisis of early childhood. This happens to almost every family with at least two children. This is not something to be afraid of. Thanks to this situation, children learn to interact with other people, find their place in life, learn to defend their rights and take into account the interests of other people. Also, having a brother or sister is great.