I am a 35 year old of six children. I have two boys age 15 and 14. I have four girls age 11,10,8 and 6. I would say that being a mother of half a dozen kids is a very tough job. It’s like I am in a marathon from 4:00 am till 6:00 am when they are fetched by their school buses. It’s hard to maintain a big household such as ours because I have no helper. I do all the household chores. I am a mother, tutor, cook, house cleaner, dishwasher, laundrywoman and a wife all rolled into one. I guess that’s just a part of the bargain from being a mother. But my predicament does not just end there. There is a crisis which is continuously igniting in our household. Sibling rivalry among my two elder sons is my headache and heartache for quite some time now.

It all started from day one when my second child realizes that his elder brother is the apple of the eye of my mother-in-law. My eldest gets all the attention, all his wishes and desires. He gets all the clothes, shoes and latest technological gadgets from his grandmother. At first, I was glad with all the gifts that she is giving my son but when my second child started asking questions and feeling unwanted and unloved by his grandmother, I was alarmed. Not only that, my two boys started feeling an animosity towards each other. They fight a lot. They say hurtful words to each other. The bottom line, jealousy that sprung from the way my mother-in-law treated my two boys. The situation bothers me a lot. I hate seeing my kids fighting over petty things. I want them to love one another. I always tell them that they will not spend the rest of their lives with each other because they are nearing the time when they will both have families of their own so why not make the most of their time loving each other.

I just hope that my kids’ situation will be an eye opener to all parents and grandparents out there. It’s not a healthy situation wherein your kids detest one another because the other is a grandma’s darling and the other is not. I know that it is not possible to love all your kids or grandchildren with the same intensity. But at least try to be fair to them. From the simplest to the grandest favor and gifts that we will give our kids, try to be fair and all will be well.