Preventing Sibling Rivalry: Six Strategies to Build a Jealousy-Free Home

Sybil Hart's book was a reassurance to me as I contemplate defying other experts' recommendations about spacing children three years apart. She recommends close child spacing and gives reasons for her alternate viewpoint, and also includes a test you can perform on your 12 month old to get an idea of how jealous he or she is likely to be, even if the new baby is some time away. She also lists types of conflict between siblings and offers suggestions for handling them. I felt the book's greatest strength was the support it gave me in deciding to have a second child soon. My only negative thought about the book was that much of it did seem to be her opinion, based on research combined with conjecture. Overall, I would recommend this book to anyone struggling with the problem of when to have a second child.