When my youngest daughter, Sophie, was born, my son Albert was seven.  Because the age difference was pretty wide and Sophie wasn’t another HE but a SHE, I didn’t think there’d be any competition or jealousy on Albert’s part. And I was right. Albert was never envious when Sophie got a new stuffed giraffe or fought for his right to a bigger scoop of pureed peas.  However, there was something going on in Albert’s head that I can now identify as “annoyance” with his little sister.  After all, she screamed over silly things, like a wet diaper. She drooled on the couch. She stared at him when he played video games, which was just annoying. She teased the dog with a fluffy bear, which just wasn’t right. And guess what?  She got away with all of it!

Eventually, Albert got used to his little sister and all that was annoying about her.  Or maybe he just figured out what Sun Tzu meant when he said: “Do not fight battles you can’t win.”