4 Things You Know Are True If You Had An Older Sibling In Middle Childhood:

HDFS 305

1. Fighting with them is inevitable

There’s no way to avoid it- you fought with your sibling. At the time, it seemed like the end of the world. Looking back, those problems may not seem as big of a deal. But that doesn’t mean you’ve forgotten about that time your older brother cut off the hair on all of your favorite dolls. Most frequently, you probably fought over possessions. With an older sibling, what’s yours is theirs and what’s theirs is definitely not yours. You definitely fought over privacy because you didn’t care to give them any and occasionally fought over who was the favorite child.

2. But… they support you when you need it.

Your older sibling could help buffer the sad feelings you had. They were there for you when you got your first bad haircut and helped you navigate the big fight you had with your mom. They helped cheer you up when you were being picked on by the bully at school and were there for you when your beloved fish passed away. Looking back, they were there when it mattered.

3. They teach you things; whether you want it or not.

There were many times your older sibling had to help you with math because mom and dad didn’t know the newest way of doing things. And you preferred it this way because in your mind, your parents didn’t really know what they were talking about since they hadn’t been in school recently. They probably taught you the importance of considering the way other people feel. Maybe they taught you the hard way- by never considering your feelings, or the more pleasant way, by giving you a little friendly perspective. Either way, your siblings were eager to teach you their ways.

4. At the end of the day, you learn to live with them, and maybe love them because they’re going to around for a while.

The sibling relationship is likely the longest relationship you will have in your lifetime. Friends can come and go, but family is forever. If you are close in age to your sibling, you are most likely going to be apart of each other’s lives the longest. So whether you like it or not, your relationship that you’ve built with your sibling will probably be the one that stays with you. But, you’re not all that upset with the idea of that.