Broken Bonds: A Tale of Sibling Rivalry

From exchanging words to exchanging blows, and then to carrying sharp objects ready for fights between siblings. Before I continue, I will love to tell you that this is a true-life story that I witnessed firsthand in my neighborhood some years ago.
 

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Sibling rivalry is common in families, but at different levels of severity! I was taught that a family is a group of people related by blood. I also know the saying that blood is thicker than water. Also, I have read several times that family is known for togetherness, and there's a strong bond that usually unites family members together, and this bond always promotes love among siblings, giving them a sense of acceptance and encouragement for one another. But then, the reverse is the case for some families, and then I began to ask myself, "What went wrong? Could it be because of the parenting style? Or are the children unaware of the right way to relate with siblings and even be the shoulder to which they should lean? And protect each other's nakedness when the need be? Why the unnecessary, unhealthy competition among siblings in some families?

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Back to the story of siblings rivalry...A man named Thomas had seven children, four boys and three girls. Out of those children, he seems to love his second son, his third son, and his first daughter far more than he did for his other children. It was very obvious, to the point that we, the neighbors, noticed it due to the constant fighting among the siblings and the kind of words they use when a fight begins. The worst part is how their Dad supports his favorite children even when they do something bad to one of their siblings. I think the favorite kids confidently step on the toes of the rest of the of the siblings because they are sure of their parents support and are taking sides as usual. There's no atom of fairness on the part of their parents when resolving conflicts. This made us, the children, develop hatred among ourselves.

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Fast-forward to the time the older son gained admission to the university. The father told him that he had no money to sponsor him and that he should go and learn a business instead. The young guy refused and somehow found a helper who did his registration in school, but he later joined the cultists, had problems, and couldn't graduate from the university. The second and third sons were sponsored by their Dad. They always brag and prove how spoilt they have been; their dad obviously gives them more than enough money to lavish in school, and at a time, both of them started carrying women into their father's house. The first son was dissatisfied with their actions and would always quarrel with them. The dad and the mom see everything without saying a word. I saw how the love they have for the boys covers a multitude of their bad behaviors. The last son looks so calm. Even though the father doesn't care about him, he pushes a barrow, carrying people's loads for money, and at one point, he saved some money and bought a jamb form for himself.
The girls weren't much of the problem in this rivalry, but the boys were.

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So that faithful day, with noises, name-calling, and the exchange of blows, it happened that their dad came home with his business documents and asked only his two favorite sons to sign them. Because of how rowdy the environment was that day, I didn't get to understand the details of the document, but it's something to benefit only those two favorite kids. Hell was let loose, and both the calm son and the first son started cursing their dad and fighting each other. The second son was shouting, I am a soon-to-be barrister; do you know who I am? With a sharp knife, hmmm, The third son was also shouting and bragging about his course of study, which intimidated the first son. It was a real family fight, but after some hours, there was calmness amidst the rage. Neighbors tried sorting out the issue, but the dad couldn't stop crying.

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He confessed to being the cause of the broken bond in the family. He kept regretting and kept pleading with his children to make peace with each other, but their temperament was on top of the roof. The next thing I noticed was the visit of a Rev. Father in their home for peace and family prayers. Everything started taking on a new shape right from that day, and the fight seized among those adults and siblings. You could see them doing things together, as siblings should do.

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I wouldn't say that my siblings and I have never experienced rivalry, especially during our childhood, but it was just a minor case. It's a concern when adults and siblings engage in unhealthy competition or resentment here and there, especially when the parents are the cause. It becomes important that parents become more sensitive while bringing up their children in order to curtail rivalry to a large extent.

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_{This post was inspired by the #inleo community and my entry to the #mayinleo monthly topic Day 6.Please check out the announcement post to get involved}.

_{Image one was generated by bing.com,image 2 &3}

Thanks for reading ❤️❤️❤️