Your elder son is also on the cusp of being a full-fledged teen and may already be carving out his own separate adolescent identity from his "little brother". You can't really stop your elder from putting down your younger boy out side your presence, however you can certainly forbid any such hurtful talk in your presence. I suggest doing an occasional one-on-one check with each son to talk about their relationship. Empathize with each one about the normal difficulties of having an older/younger brother at this age. Tell your older son you expect him to demonstrate his maturity and "elder statesman" qualities by treating his brother how he would wish to be treated; praise his efforts to do so. Siblings will "rank" on each other, after all, but if a family member is truly causing another pain then that harmful behavior needs to stop.
Sibling Putdowns
Carleton Kendrick has been in private practice as a family therapist and has worked as a consultant for more than 20 years. He has conducted parenting seminars on topics ranging from how to discipline toddlers to how to stay connected with teenagers. Kendrick has appeared as an expert on national broadcast media such as CBS, Fox Television Network, Cable News Network, CNBC, PBS, and National Public Radio. In addition, he's been quoted in the New York Times, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, USA Today, Reader's Digest, BusinessWeek, Good Housekeeping, Woman's Day, and many other publications.
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