Overcoming Sibling Rivalry with Art Activities

The arrival of a new baby in your family or the “who’s better” competition that starts between growing children is an exhausting process for parents. Sibling jealousy is an extremely human and natural emotion. The important thing is to turn this competition into constructive cooperation. Art activities can help siblings bond by providing a space free of races and competition.

Collaborative Artwork (Mural) Project

To prevent children from competing with each other (who drew better), instead of giving them individual sheets of paper, spread a large piece of wrapping paper on the floor.
Assign tasks by saying, “This is your shared planet. You paint the mountains and the sky, and you draw the animals and the forests.” The resulting piece should be a work that cannot be completed without the cooperation of two people. This action sends the message that they are teammates, not rivals.

Emotion Paintings

To an older sibling who is jealous of a newborn baby, you can say, “Can you draw what the baby makes you feel on this paper?” An angry face or a dark scribble might emerge. Never react negatively to this. Help them release this negative energy by tearing up the paper together or by painting colorful flowers over it.

The Color Swap Game

When two siblings are coloring, give them only half of the colored pencils each. (For example, one gets only red and yellow; the other gets blue and green). They will have to learn to politely “swap” with each other for the colors they need. The sentence, “Could you please give me the green one?” enhances communication and teaches resource sharing.

Being a sibling is sometimes challenging, but once they learn to share the same color palette, they will create the best works of art together for a lifetime.