I was reading a Glamour interview with Kylie and Kendall Jenner recently, and the first sentence says that people probs know who they are “because of their famous sisters.” Gah, that’s got to be kind of rough to immediately be known because of your siblings and not necessarily for you. Still, the girls talk a lot about their relationship with their older siblings and it seems that for the most part, they get along and avoid the dreaded trap of sibling rivalry.

Having siblings – younger or older, famous or not – can sometimes be a challenge. Here’s some tips for how to keep things peaceful at home when it comes to dealing with your brothers and sisters and keeping your sibling rivalry in check.

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Find Your Peacemaker

Kylie and Kendall told Glamour that big sister Khloe is their "peacemaker." Find that neutral person who can help the two of you work things out before they get too crazy or heated. Maybe it's another sibling, a parent or a cousin. Just make sure it is someone you both trust and admire, and commit to taking their advice with maturity.

Source: Joel Ginsburg/WENN.com

Just Talk It Out

If your sibling doesn't seem as interested in keeping the peace, you can still use your parents as a resource. Rather than screaming with your sibling and forcing your parents to then sort everything out as an outsider, have a heart-to-heart with mom or dad about how you are feeling and see if they can make suggestions or changes that will help your sibling bond.

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Have Clear Boundaries

Sharing with siblings is great, but you need to have a clear sense of "mine" and "yours." A study of fighting siblings showed how those types of property arguments could negatively impact the siblings' self-esteem. Not good! Just have very open communication with your sibling about what you are each willing to share, and respect that some things just aren't yours to use.

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Be A Team

Siblings can get stuck in the same roles at home even though parents may not have realized one is clearly getting the short end of the stick. Try out a new routine by tackling at-home tasks together. Not only will it go by faster, that should eliminate any fights over the "fairness" of chores or tasks at home. Plus, it gives you time to just chat as you work and spend quality time together.

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Do Your Own Thing

Siblings can sometimes feel pushed to have the same activities or interests, whether they look up to an older sibling or its convenient for parents. Sometimes all those shared interests can intensify rivalry and resentment, so try and see if there's something totally different from your sibling that you want to try. I could be both good for you and your sibling relationship.

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Still Be Yourself

Even if you do have the same interests, still try and find ways to be yourself. Zooey and Emily Deshanel both went into the same career, but I don't feel like they are constantly compared. Maybe because even while doing the same thing, they took different approaches (with networks, genres, characters, etc.). Plus, Zooey has guest starred on Emily's show, so they give a "work together" rather than "compete against" vibe.

Source: Apega/WENN.com

Quit Comparing

We know it just sounds easy, but we also understand that this is a tough one. People are probably always going to compare you and your siblings in some way or another - that's just a fact of life. But, if you yourself can stop measuring each other up and just see each other as two separate people, that'll make things a lot easier for you.

Source: Shutterstock.com

Let Your Sibling Have The Spotlight

It can be tempting to try and one-up a sibling in their moment (especially if you feel it's always "their moment"), but try your best to hold back. Everyone deserves some special attention, even sometimes annoying siblings. If you try to get a rise out of them, they'll remember that when it's your turn to be the center of attention and try to steal it back. That sounds like a bad cycle to avoid.

Source: Shutterstock.com

But Try To Share Your Spotlight

Okay, so we said let your siblings have their spotlight, but when it is your chance to be the center of attention, give your siblings a little shout out. For example, Jennifer Lawrence thanked her brothers for their support in her Golden Globes acceptance speech. It shows how much you value them and doesn't make it seem like you've been competing against them. They'll start think of the ways YOU support them, and that sounds like a good pattern to get into.

Source: Apega/WENN.com

See Them As A Friend

I get in way less fights with my friends than my siblings because I don't take them for granted and I go out of my way for us to do things together. If you can stop seeing your sibling as only a family member and start trying to get to know them like you would a friend, you'll likely have a better relationship which means less fighting and competing.

Source: Shutterstock.com

How many siblings do you have? Would you say that you and your siblings are friends? What is the biggest thing that you and your sibling fight over? Tell me in the comments!

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Sibling spats are no fun. Source: Shutterstock

I remember thinking that as time went by, maybe my still feeling crummy was just me overreacting. However, a new study seems to show that those fights we have with our siblings can have lasting negative effects on us — even a year later.

The study was conducted by a research team at the University Missouri, and they followed 145 pairs of adolescent siblings. Depending on the type of fight these duos had, the researchers found connections to varying types of negative consequences twelve months later.

Fights between the sibling pairs related to “violations of personal space and property” showed a connection to both a decrease in the individuals’ self-esteem and higher levels of anxiety. And those fights regarding “issues of equality and fairness?” Well, the researchers found a connection with more depression. It seems that the “last word” really doesn’t seem to be the last of these fights.

I’ll say that for me, fights with my brothers have always stung the most — often more than those with my friends, my boyfriend, even my parents. I think because my siblings were the ones who could relate most to what it was like to grow up in my same environment, I wanted us to be a really awesome team. When we disagreed on something, it just felt really personal. Plus, a fight happening where you live and can’t really distance yourself from is an added layer of rough.

The researchers of the original study have a couple suggestions for parents about how to keep sibling bickering at bay, and while I certainly can’t claim to be an expert on sibling relationships, there are a couple things that over the years I’ve tried to do to keep the sibling peace at least in my household.

I try to direct family conversation toward topics that can include all us kids, rather than just focusing on one person’s achievements in school or sports (I totally used to tally up how often we’d talk about my brothers’ games at dinner…). I also try to never assume what my brothers’ plans are. Too many times I’ve figured they didn’t need to use our shared car, only to have a blowout later when it turns out we all made separate plans.

Believe me, we still fight. I mean, it happens. But knowing how long-lasting those fights can be, I think it’s important to make sure like with any relationship, you’re taking the time to really respect the other person. Especially with this information that your sibling spats can leave you still feeling not-so-great even a while after, maybe trying to keep the peace between you and the sibs would be a good resolution for the new year that could keep all of you feeling healthier and happier.

Do you fight with your siblings? What are the things you most often fight about? Do you have any advice to share about getting along with your siblings? Tell us in the comments!

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Do you have brothers and/or sisters? Do you guys deal with sibling rivalry, or do you always get along? How competitive are you in general? Tell us everything in the comments!

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