About the Program
The More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program teaches 4 to 8 year-old children the key social and emotional competencies that research has shown are critical for fun, friendly and low-conflict sibling interactions.
The More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program takes a very positive approach— teaching siblings exactly what they need to DO in order to build a positive relationship. By making instruction enjoyable, we help children realize that engaging with their siblings can be fun…. And rewarding. In this online version of the program, we teach parents how to guide and coach their children so that they can learn these skills that are critical for forming and maintaining good relationships with their siblings. The More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program is the first program for enhancing the relationships of young siblings that has undergone stringent tests and demonstrated to be effective.
Sibling relationships offer children many benefits. Siblings who get along well are most likely to reap the support and caring these relationships can offer—not only during childhood, but throughout their lives. Sibling relationships are the longest relationships individuals will have with family members and so it’s important to get it right from the beginning. But what happens when siblings are not able to get along? Are they destined to lives chock full of conflict and unhappiness? Absolutely not. Children can learn the skills and competencies they need in order to improve their relationships. Decades of research have shown that this is indeed possible. But it won’t happen without effort… and not without a proactive, intentional approach that is designed to build the skills children truly need. And with parental guidance.
What we have to offer is a proven method for strengthening children’s sibling relationships. The More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program is an evidence-based program—based on decades of research on how children relate to their siblings— that teaches children what they need to know and do in order to have enjoyable relationships.
Bottom line: Helping children learn how to get along, and have fun, with their sisters and brothers in the early stages of their social and emotional development can help them enjoy the life-long benefits related to successful sibling relationships.
What Parents Can Expect
In this online program, we teach parents how to guide and coach their children so they too can learn the skills that are critical for forming, and maintaining, a good relationship with their siblings.
Through this new and free program, parents will learn how to help their children get along and resolve conflicts effectively. You’ll have opportunities to try out some new ways of promoting sibling harmony and managing children’s conflicts. The program includes online learning modules, videos to demonstrate certain skills, and quizzes you can use to self-check what you have learned. You’ll have opportunities to record information about your children’s relationship, and keep track of improvements in their relationship throughout the program.
Parents play critical roles in supporting positive sibling interactions— encouraging them to play together in harmony and helping them to work through problems when conflicts arise. Parents can be excellent coaches for their children, helping them to develop and use the social and emotional competencies we now know are important for interacting positively with sisters and brothers.
But, many parents are unsure about how to coach their children in these effective ways. Parents often have many questions about how to manage negative feelings and arguments between their children, prevent rivalry, and more. MFWSB online has been designed to not only answer these questions but to also help you as parents promote the skills we identified in our earlier work to be some of the most effective ingredients of sibling relationship quality.
What We Ask From Parents
As this online version of the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program is a new development, we’d like your help to test its effectiveness. In exchange for free use of the program, parents who volunteer to participate will be asked to respond to a series of online questionnaires, both before and after completing the four online modules. You will also be asked to complete short weekly progress reports before each online module so that we can learn whether improvements are being made. Participation is voluntary and you may end your involvement at any time.
All information you provide will be kept confidential and secure and will only be used by Dr. Kramer and her students to determine the ways in which the online parents’ version of the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program may help parents to promote more positive interactions among their children.
How to Enroll
If you have at least two children in the 4- to 8-year age range, we invite you to complete a short questionnaire so we can make sure that the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program will likely meet the needs of your family.
Our Unique Approach
Several studies have shown that our approach is the best way to go: Using a randomized control design (the gold standard of research), we’ve shown that the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program improves sibling relationship quality, with children behaving more positively towards one another, more able to take one another’s perspectives, and more able to manage conflicts when they do arise.
Our Team
How to Become a Facilitator
Coming Soon. Mental health or educational professionals who hold at least a Master’s degree and licensure or certification in their discipline, are invited to contact Dr. Kramer to discuss becoming trained and certified to offer the More Fun with Sisters and Brothers Program as part of their practice.