F-I-G-H-T! (NIV Devotions)

F-I-G-H-T! That’s the bat­tle cry of kids in so many fam­i­lies today. Before we reach the car door, brother and sis­ter are close to blows over who gets to sit in the front. “He pinched me!” “She pulled my hair!” And so it goes.

Sib­lings have often been rivals. Even back in Bible times. Think about Cain and Abel and Joseph and his eleven broth­ers. As in these very seri­ous sit­u­a­tions, some sib­ling squab­bles can have dis­as­trous results.

Is there a way to mit­i­gate the neg­a­tive aspects of sib­ling fights? When care­fully mon­i­tored by par­ents, can they actu­ally fos­ter growth? Experts list three ben­e­fits to in-house fighting:

1. Inter­per­sonal empa­thy. Fights offer chil­dren the oppor­tu­nity to learn sen­si­tiv­ity to the feel­ings of others.

2. Emo­tional pro­cess­ing. Fights give chil­dren a chance to express and process emotions.

3. Res­o­lu­tion skills. Fights give chil­dren expe­ri­ence in estab­lish­ing non­vi­o­lent solu­tions like com­pro­mise and cooperation.

While God can and does bring good out of even the worst of sit­u­a­tions, we can help our chil­dren grow well by teach­ing them how to “fight” well.