How to Help Your Firstborn Adapt to Baby

Rewards of Having Siblings

While having more kids means a heavier workload for Mom and Dad, as well as a bigger financial burden, "nothing can be more of a gift to a child than a sibling," says T. Berry Brazelton, MD, author of Understanding Sibling Rivalry: The Brazelton Way (Perseus Books). Here's why:

• All that bickering is teaching your kids to negotiate, compromise, solve problems, and recognize other people's needs.
• Siblings learn how to tolerate painful emotions, because fights with a brother or a sister can often be harsher than those with others in their life.
• Younger siblings have someone older to watch and learn from constantly, while older siblings get experience nurturing, teaching, and leading.
• Brothers and sisters learn to share and to enjoy giving to others.
• Siblings have companionship and a close friend for life.