Home education gives us some really special times with our children, opportunities to make beautiful memories, but also just plenty of time to savour the everyday moments - simple things like having an affectionate youngest child, when all the others seem to have outgrown the need for hugs and cuddles is priceless or a child begging you to read aloud, when he is quite capable of reading a story himself. These are moments to treasure.

But there are also hard moments. Like the times when one child won’t show consideration or respect for another child, because they have both damaged their relationship, when one child provokes the other or plays the victim and accuses parents or other siblings of being biased and unfair.

These sibling conflicts and outbursts of drama are often frustrating and usually at the most inconvenient times, but these are vital relationship issues that you must unravel and resolve together. You must teach your children to be humble and respectful and to treat their sibling relationships with care or else reap the consequences. It’s very easy to step in as the judge and the jury and make a ruling, the greater challenge is to equip children with the maturity and perspective they need to resolve their conflicts themselves.

You don’t find these lessons in any curriculum but they are vital if we want our children to learn to have healthy boundaries and healthy relationships.