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Effects of Sibling Rivalry Sibling rivalry is nothing new, it's been around since basically the beginning of time. One of the first stories in the Bible deals with sibling rivalry between the two brothers, Cain and Abel. We can see it resulting from the older brother, Cain, who is frustrated by the approval Abel received , to which he so greatly desired but was never given. In the end Cain kills his brother because of the jealousy and contempt he has for him. Showing us the first account of murder resulting from sibling rivalry. A sibling is a relative who may live in the same household as one's brother or sister. A rival is an opponent to whom one may feel competitive and hostile towards. So the term, "sibling rivalry" is meant to describe the result of this competition between brothers and or sisters. Whether its pulling hair, fighting over any particular item, or in general trying the patience of parents to upmost limit are examples of competition between siblings. Which, as stated before in the Biblical case of Cain and Abel, sibling rivalry can carry on into adulthood, and possibly end in a terrible death. It's not hard to distinguish the reason behind the cause of sibling rivalry because the fight for survival can also be found in nature. For example, kittens or puppies will fight one another for food in a way that may even cause the weakest in the litter or the "runt" to struggle toward ever reaching average size or even die from lack of nutrition. This struggle exists between humans in the same way. The only difference is that the fight isn't a struggle regarding food and recourses. People fight over love, attention, and overall approval from their parents. It's no secret that human siblings can't all have completely equal attention from their parents. Even in the case when parents strive for fairness, all of their affections cannot be completely divide between two, three, four, or however many children they have. This is especially true in the case of one of the children being younger or recently born. In this time, it's nearly impossible to get any parent's attention away from the baby. Seeing that from the parents perspective if their two-month old baby daughter started crying at the same time their twenty two year old son started crying, the helpless baby is obviously going to get more attention than their full-grown son. During the period in time when a new baby is introduced to a home, jealousy from other siblings may be running high, especially if the siblings are still very young. This is due to the fact that it has become a huge event that shakes the parents entire world up. Not only is the baby constantly preoccupying any free time the parents might have had, but the baby soon becomes the main topic of conversation. This can make the other children feel like mom and dad, don’t have any time for them anymore and even when they do they are probably tired and irritated. This is the root of many fights between siblings at this time and even later in life. In every family there is somewhat of a "favorite" child. Whether the parents ever admit to it or not it's pretty obvious to see based on the way that the child receives that approving smile or nod and the way that the parents usually try to mention that child's many accomplishments when meeting new people. While the unlucky other child or children seem to be somewhat forgotten in these conversations and might even be uninvited to social outings with anyone their parents might consider to be their friends. Who can blame them? Consider if the somewhat "losers" and or "freaks" of the family ( whom they still love) were the main topic of conversation? Parents wouldn’t be able to keep or make any friends. The result of this favoritism or simply being the youngest at one point in time doesn't usually end well for the treasured child. This youngster will find that being pushed as far as possible will be a continual struggle throughout his or her childhood. It's almost inevitable that through the toddler stage to maybe even adulthood, siblings may develop a constant thrill in seeing how far they can push, kick, hit, bite, and harass each other into a state of complete fury. The sibling doing the bullying is propelled by the jealousy or frustration felt because of the excuses made on behalf of the favored child from the parents. One may say that it is completely the cause of bad parenting, but the best parents in the world couldn’t control the anger one child unavoidably develops toward their sibling. Overall, in order to lay the foundation for a good sibling relationship, the parents must have the necessary knowledge. This will most likely include whatever techniques the parents or caretakers used in disciplining them, which may turn into a problem if their parents practiced very little punishment. Occasional, the parent's actions in caring for and disciplining the children causes a severed tie between the sibling's relationships. Nonetheless, the way the parents apply what they have learned, their desire to apply these skills, and the time and opportunity they have to apply them with their children, will hold the deciding factor whether or not a child can come to love or hate their sibling or siblings for the rest of their lives.