Month: July 2006

Busymom links to how siblings shape who we are.

[Our brothers and our sisters] are our scolds, protectors, goads, tormenters, playmates, counselors, sources of envy, objects of pride.

They teach us how to resolve conflicts, and how not to; how to conduct friendships and when to walk away from them. Sisters teach brothers about the mysteries of girls; brothers teach sisters about the puzzle of boys. [Source]

We have told our children many times that nothing is thicker than blood. Cathy and I have pondered if Sarah will run to the remote edges of the world to evade Tommy or if she will be near and check on him when we are gone.

Our spouses arrive comparatively late in our lives; our parents eventually leave us. Our siblings may be the only people we’ll ever know who truly qualify as partners for life. [Source – same as above]

Sibling rivalries can be good. Fighting teaches "how conflicts, once begun, can be settled" With siblings, you negotiate things from day to day. Unlike that best friend through middle school that disappears in high school, your siblings are always there.

Multi-child households can be nothing short of palace courts, with alliances, feuds, grudges and loyalties, all changing day to day. Perhaps the touchiest problem in most such families is favoritism. [Source – same as above]

As role models, siblings fail pretty badly.

On the whole, siblings pass on dangerous habits to one another in a depressingly predictable way.

A girl with an older, pregnant teenage sister is four to six times likelier to become a teen mom herself. [Source – same as above]

We have seen the influence both ways. Noah will take to school Tommy’s behaviors while Tommy will take to high school elementary humor that he missed which Noah is now enjoying. I love seeing my family stand together. There are so many times I observe them from afar and take pleasure is watching their interactions. They are really good to each other and for each other.