Elisabeth McKay

And attention in some form or another felt scarce.

The child starts to form subconscious equations like what we talk about in Break Method with ACB pathways.

Perhaps the assumption could be there's not enough love, safety, attention, or value to go around.

Conclusion, if somebody else gets it, I don't.

The behavior could be comparison, insecurity, possessiveness, resentment, withdrawal, competition, sabotage.

And in these moments, the child is no longer perceiving reality clearly or objectively.

They're filtering through a lens of scarcity.

Early signs often get dismissed as perfectly normal sibling behavior, but if you leave them as repeated unchecked behaviors, these turn into deeply entrenched adult patterns.

Childhood signs that are worth watching out for would be extreme comparison with siblings or peers.

Meltdowns if somebody else perceives praise, and a good way to look at this one, and this is something that we start to justify socially as totally acceptable based on their age,

I have Irish twins, as you know if you follow the show.

My youngest, River, is four.

Harley is five.

When one of them gets a present, the other one naturally, if not corrected, will melt down.

Where's my present?

What about me?

When's my birthday?

You have to be able to correct these with intention, right?

You don't just want to shut them down and shame them.

You want to help them understand that attention on one child does not mean that the other child is not loved.