My arms fail forward and I grasp a tuft of carefully coiffed pigtail, I tug mercilessly. Emitting a scream my opponent digs carefully manicured coral pink fingernails into my arm. I’m going to be a man about it and not scream. But a solitary tear decides to make the long walk of shame down my chubby cheek. Mildly injured but not beaten I try and put my relentless instigator of violence in an arm bar. Dad would be proud, all those hours of force fed Mixed Marital Arts seems to have come in handy. Curse be to the heavens, my slick tormentor prior to our squabble, has decided to douse herself with exponential doses of baby cream, thus making her more slippery than an eel. She’s a wise one, this nemesis of mine. Slithering out from my deftly put arm bar, she now manoevers her body and bottom on to myself, encased in Dora the Explorer pants, my little giant of an enemy sits on me, pining me to the playpen, stuck, immobile, I lie them..defeated.

Just when I thought I might try My Hulk Hogan chest thrust move..Mum comes in screaming..”What is going on here”!!!! Sheesh Mum I don’t need to be rescued I think, well for all those dear readers who hadn’t figured it out. Big Sister and I were having a little bit of a squabble. Whatever you heard earlier I was almost going to win, but my Mother dearest stole my thunder. On the upside, Big Sister got sent off to the naughty step for picking on her little brother, she hollered and screamed and shouted protests about how I started it first. Whatever Sis, those were my building blocks to begin with, yeah so what if you were quite engrossed and was in the middle of building a lego skyscraper for one, I just felt the need for bricks and I really didn’t want to wait my turn. Since the turn of the century Man has come and conquered, and hey who was I to change the ways of society, so that’s just what I did. I sauntered by Big Sister playing with her blocks, felt the need for the blocks to be mine, pushed her away and just took them. Mum believes me and that’s all that matters!

What is sibling rivalry? 

While many kids are lucky enough to become the best of friends with their siblings, it's common for brothers and sisters to fight. Often, sibling rivalry starts even before the second child is born, and continues as the kids grow and compete for everything from toys to attention. As kids reach different stages of development, their evolving needs can significantly affect how they relate to one another.It can be frustrating and upsetting to watch — and hear — your kids fight with one another. A household that's full of conflict is stressful for everyone. Yet often it's hard to know how to stop the fighting, and or even whether you should get involved at all.

How to overcome sibling rivalry?

While it may be common for brothers and sisters to fight, it's certainly not pleasant for anyone in the house. And a family can only tolerate a certain amount of conflict. So what should you do when the fighting starts? Whenever possible, don't get involved. Step in only if there's a danger of physical harm. If you always intervene, you risk creating other problems. The kids may start expecting your help and wait for you to come to the rescue rather than learning to work out the problems on their own. There's also the risk that you — inadvertently — make it appear to one child that another is always being "protected," which could foster even more resentment. By the same token, rescued kids may feel that they can get away with more because they're always being "saved" by a parent. If you're concerned by the language used or name-calling, it's appropriate to "coach" kids through what they're feeling by using appropriate words. This is different from intervening or stepping in and separating the kids. Even then, encourage them to resolve the crisis themselves. If you do step in, try to resolve problems with your kids, not for them.

By Mayuri Jayasinghe