I have an 11 year old son and my fiance has a 14 year old son that clash constantly. They go out of their way to spite each other and have resorted to punching each other on a couple of occasions. They're very alike, which is probably why they don't get on but now it's getting to the point where it's affecting the entire family. I had thought of sitting them both down and letting them tell each other just why they're so annoyed and annoying (and to get them to say what they actually like about living together) but i'm not sure whether that might just add fuel to the fire. Anyone got any suggestions on how to make peace between them?
I am in my final year of training to be a social worker, and have had lots of experience giving advice to families in similar situations to yourself. I find that, know matter what the relationship is, whether it be friends, siblings, lovers, or step siblings, the best thing to do is sit down together and talk about the problems. Much of the time, the route of these problems is a simply misunderstanding, and can be resolved. However, some people just dont get on, thats a fact of life. All you can do is support them both, and act as a mediator so they can both say whats on their minds.
