Revised example essay

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Sibling Rivalry-------example essay REVISED!!!!

Sibling rivalry is found in any home with more than one child and can start as
soon as the second child is born due to jealousy of the amount of time and attention
parents give the new arrival. The sibling rivalry can also be delayed which is what
happened with our family. The delay in sibling rivalry was most likely due to the gender
order of birth with a daughter first, Gabriele followed by two boys, Travis and Mitchell.

Gabriele being three years older settled into the “big sister” role fairly easily after
Travis was born. She frequently wanted to give him a bottle, change his clothes and rock
him. The household was peaceful and free from the sibling rivalry until Travis was 1 ½
years old which is when Mitchell was born and the sibling rivalry began, at least between
brothers, with Travis bidding for attention. Travis was off the bottle, however when his
younger brother was born he felt it necessary to take his bottle for himself, telling us he
was just trying to help feed the baby or he was just bringing it to me. The infant cradle
was entirely to small for Travis but this is where he wanted to sleep since his baby
brother got to sleep there.

At this time Gabriele was still playing the “big sister” role with Mitchell but it
seemed Travis was caught in the middle with the sibling rivalry on both sides of him,
coming from his older sister and him passing it down to his new baby brother. Gabriele,
Travis and Mitchell could have been and still could be the poster children for sibling
rivalry and they are no different from any other siblings. The sibling rivalry was part of
daily life.

In the early preschool and elementary years the rivalry was as simple as who was
going to be “the banker” in a game of Monopoly or which chair each of them sat in
to watch TV. Gabriele being the oldest thought she should be“the banker” and of
course, Travis being the oldest boy thought it should be his job to be “the banker”. Not
taking sides, not jumping to conclusion, to be fair and because I enjoyed it, I usually
ended up sitting on the floor with them doing the banker’s job myself. Taking turns was
an option but that lead to more rivalry because they were rarely happy with how the other
one was counting the money. When the rivalry started about which chair each of them sat
in while watching TV they of course all wanted the same chair. To be fair they ended up
sitting on the floor.

With an age difference of only 14 months it seemed the rivalry never ended
between Travis and Mitchell. Starting with the bottle and cradle incidents and moving on
to toy trucks, cars or building blocks. They took a truck from the other ones pile or
knocked over the other ones fort they had built out of the blocks. Gabriele and Mitchell
had very few rivalry moments because she still thought of him as “the baby” or “her
baby” and he usually got his way, until it was time to take a trip in the car. The rivalry
began as we walked out the door when all of them shouted, “I have shotgun” which
meant they wanted to sit in the front seat.

As they all got older the sibling rivalry was still present but on a new level. When
Gabriele started to drive and had a curfew, her favorite statement was “I bet Travis and
Mitchell won’t have to be home this early” or “Travis and Mitchell are going to get to go
where ever they want”. Now that Travis is driving, his favorite thing to bring up is that
Gabriele did not have to call and check in when she started driving or she had a better car
then he does. Travis and Mitchell now rival about who is going to take out the trash,
who is going to cut the grass or who has the coolest friends. Gabriele still considers
Mitchell as “the baby” and he still gets his way with her most of the time.

Sibling rivalry is not a “new” concept it has been around since the beginning of
time, Cain and Abel to be exact. Sibling rivalry can even be found in fairy tales,
Cinderella and the step-sisters for example. Sibling rivalry has not changed much and still
exists all you need is a two or more children home. With more than two siblings all of
them may not have a rivalry. It may be that they rival with one sibling but not all of them.

As the mother of three children I have often made the statement, “I wish I could
find a cure for sibling rivalry and bottle it, I could make a fortune”. But sibling rivalry is
a competition. Competition has been labeled as a “good thing”, but in reality competition
is necessary and a part of life, just as sibling rivalry is necessary and a part of life. There
are various reasons why sibling rivalry exists, to get attention, to find their role in the
home, fear and jealousy are a few reasons. As long as families have more than one
child sibling rivalry will continue. The age and/or gender of the siblings does not really
make the rivalry better or worse, two or more brothers, two or more sisters or a brother
and a sister, it is all the same. However, the gender order could postpone the sibling
rivalry for a year or two.