How to address sibling jealously?

Mc_Newlywed

I have a lot of friends with kids 4 &6 and in watching them i've noticed that they have varying degrees of jealousy but one set specifically has a really issue with it. I can't give one kid so much as a sticker w/o the other one freaking out. Obviously as their auntie I always try to be fair but when they howl because one got more chocolate in their milk than the other ...well that's ridiculous!

So...what do you do when the evil green jealousy giant rears it's head?

shouldbworkin

That's just kind of par for the course at that age.  I think most parents of two kids close in age buy 2 of everything.  We have worked on rivalry a bit and I found the book Siblings without Rivalry to be really helpful with this.  The green eyed monster still rears it's head in our house from time to time (DS hates when I buy clothes for DD and not for him).  I just talk it through with my kids.  There's plenty to go around and I remind them that sometimes they got something that the other didn't get and now it's someone else's turn.

KoriBrett

duct tape and ear plugs.

:-)

We separate the kids, give them both something fun to do and some 1-1 time with us.  And, sometimes we buy them matching toys. 

My mom used to have to actually count the green beans & peas out b/c my brother would lose his_shit if he had to eat ONE more than any of us did.

Dcubed

KoriBrett:

duct tape and ear plugs.

:-)

We separate the kids, give them both something fun to do and some 1-1 time with us.  And, sometimes we buy them matching toys. 

My mom used to have to actually count the green beans & peas out b/c my brother would lose his_shit if he had to eat ONE more than any of us did.

This is pretty funny and sounds like something I would do (make my mom count them to be fair).  I remember being jealous when my bro or sis got things and I didn't - I always said I was the forgotten child. 

With my own kids I try even things out as best as possible but now at their age and with the little one here I have been telling them sometimes DS gets things and vice versa but that doesn't work everytime with my 3yo (the 5yo gets it most of the time).