Darcy is Always First: When Siblings Fight is new in the one of the books in the Good News For Little Hearts series. Lauren Whitman, the editor, is a counselor and faculty member at CCEF. Joe Hox has illustrated the other books in this series, and you can see his style here.
As a father of three boys and two girls, I understand the frustration of listening to children argue about being first, as if all life and happiness depended upon that one achievement. Besides waiting for our kids to grow out of this, what else can we do to work on their hearts and point them to Christ?
Throughout the book, Darcy, the oldest duckling, is first and best at everything, to the dismay of her younger brother Denny. The third sibling Delia isn’t old enough yet to care (usually). After much frustration over Darcy’s selfishness, Denny decides that he will be the first to fly up into the air and meet his grandparents. Only instead he crashes into them and causes all three of them to fall into the water. This leads to the problem Denny is facing (Darcy’s selfishness), which Darcy finally admits is something she needs to work on changing. Papa Duck points to Romans 12:5, “In Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts” (). I’ve started using the principle behind this verse with my own sons when they fight. When one of us helps another, that person actually helps the whole family. When one of us hurts another, we end up hurting all of us.
The book ends with six ways to help your children navigate sibling rivalry. If you have children, they will fight and argue. There is no getting around it. But these six pieces of advice direct us to think God’s thoughts as we have them in Scripture. God, who has formed these children (Ps 139), has chosen to place them in this family. As such, the perfect place for them to learn to love others is in the home with other siblings (and parents) with whom they are around every day.
Recommended?
I found the six tips on navigating sibling conflict to be quite helpful. I appreciate having biblical tips and example of what I can do with my children. Obviously there is a page limit to this book, so the siblings do eventually have to reconcile and forgive each other. Things aren’t always so clean cut in real life. What happens when a siblings simply will not apologize? Or what if you just can’t keep the conversation going at that moment because everyone is so wild (or kid #3 or 4 has a blowout?). Then take these principles and apply them throughout the days and weeks and months. Even when there is reconciliation, you’re going to have to do this again and again and again. And again.
Having these biblical principles are handy, and as your children come to know Christ you can apply these Scriptures more pointedly. As a Baptist, I can’t apply Romans 12:5 to all of my children yet because they aren’t all Christians yet. They aren’t yet part of Christ’s body. Even the duck parents in the book apply the principle behind Romans 12:5. They don’t point their little ducklings to the broader church body, only to their own immediate family. As my children grow and, hopefully, come to know Christ, I can expand this text from our immediate family and connect it to their relationship with the wider church body.
Pair this with Jax’s Tail Twitches, a book on anger and different ways it can be expressed.
Find it on Amazon and New Growth Press!
Lagniappe
- Series: Good News for Little Hearts
- Editor: Lauren Whitman
- Illustrator: Joe Hox
- Hardcover: 32 pages
- Age Range: 5-11 years
- Publisher: New Growth Press (September 9, 2024)
- Other book reviews on the series:
Review Disclosure: I received this book free from New Growth Press. The opinions I have expressed are my own, and I was not required to write a positive review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html.
Amazon Affiliate Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
spoiledmilks 