From The Globe and Mai

The problem

Few things are as aggravating to parents as the constant back and forth tattling that goes on among siblings.

“Dad, Travis said my nose makes me look like a horse.”

“Dad, Melinda made a peanut butter and jelly mess in the kitchen and she didn’t clean it up.”

“Dad, Travis stole a dollar out of your wallet.”

Tattling delivers a one-two punch of unpleasantness. It drags you into their bickering – never fun. And it presents the tattler in an unfavorable light – everybody knows that tattletales are on the upper rungs of those who should be despised. This is your kid we’re talking about here.

It’s a divisive bad habit. It invariably makes for genuine dislike between siblings, and directly works against any loyalty they may feel toward each other. Worse – and what makes it so unattractive – is that it curries favour at the expense of another. A morally bereft human activity.