MORE FUN FOR FAMILIES

A new study from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign department of family studies has found sibling harmony can be taught. Another benefi t was discovered: parents’ stress levels decreased. “Many parents, especially mothers, use how their kids are getting along as a barometer for how well they’re doing as a parent. This is true even though virtually all siblings have some confl ict,” said Laurie Kramer, a University of Illinois professor of applied family studies and co-author of the study.

When moms learned how to coach their children through confl ict, using skills taught in the study, they internalized ways to manage their own emotions. For example, mothers learned to reframe bickering as a normal part of the sibling relationship, and keep stress from interfering with their effectiveness as a parent.

The intervention, called More Fun with Brothers and Sisters, teaches siblings skills such as looking at a problem from another’s perspective, identifying and discussing emotions and calming themselves when emotions are overwhelming. “We sometimes have to be very intentional and teach our children how to interact well with each other,” Kramer explained. “We can’t expect young children to fi gure out how to manage these complex relationships on their own.”

“Fostering Parents’ Emotion Regulation through a Sibling-Focused Experimental Intervention” appears in the June 2015 issue of the Journal of Family Psychology. Co-authors are Niyantri Ravindran, Nancy L. McElwain, and Laurie Kramer, all of the U of I, and Jennifer M. Engle, a U of I alumna, now of Vanderbilt University.