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The following is a guest post from Tracy who blogs at Girls to Grow.

As a Mom, one of the things I desire to see in my children is a genuine love for one another.  While there will always be moments of disagreement and times of strife, I hope that my daughters will always have a close and meaningful relationship.

Here is a list of five ways we can encourage our children to love each other.

1)    Cultivate a spirit of family unity.  There are a variety of ways to do this, the most basic of which is just spending time together.  The more family members do together, the more memories they create and bonds they form.  These times needn’t be fancy or expensive; something as simple as a family picnic or game night can provide lots of fun and togetherness.

2)    Teach respect for each other’s person, possessions and privacy.  We stress that there should never be hitting, pinching, pushing, etc and an appropriate punishment is determined if any of those occur (which they do from time to time).  As to respecting other’s possessions, we instruct our children to always ask permission before using or borrowing each other’s things.  If one of them damages the other’s item, it is the responsibility of the one who has done the damage to fix or replace it.  Along these same lines, we ask that they always knock and receive approval to enter the other’s room if the door is closed.

3)    Be quick to ask for and grant forgiveness.  If one child has wronged another, he/she should be willing to admit their mistake and apologize.  Do whatever is necessary to make the situation right.  If you are the offended one, be ready to forgive.  Don’t allow grudges or bitterness to grow.

4)    Protect the family relationship.  Never repeat stories of events that happen in the home that would be embarrassing to a brother or sister. Be protective of your siblings and their feelings.  Above all, be thoughtful and considerate toward those in your family. We are often more gracious to friends, neighbors and acquaintances than we are to those we love and treasure the most.

5)    Recognize and celebrate individual accomplishments.  All of the family members should rejoice when one of them hits a home run, memorizes a difficult piano piece or gets an A on a test.  I know some mothers who have a special plate that a child uses for dinner when they have achieved a certain goal; others may make a favorite meal or have a small award designated for honoring these occasions.  On the flip side, it’s a great thing for our children to learn to empathize when a sibling has a difficult time.  Help them think of ways to encourage each other when someone has had a bad day.

These are just a few ideas for helping our children learn to develop that special relationship they can have with each other.  I’d love to hear ideas you may have for cultivating family ties and strengthening those bonds between brothers and sisters.

Tracey is a wife and mom of two girls who can be found blogging about all things related to families and parenting at Girls to Grow.

This post is linking to Works for me Wednesday.