Siblings

Siblings: A life advantage we rarely consider.

Growing up wasn’t always the easiest thing to do in my life. There always seemed to be something to derail it as soon as it was going well, when I was younger there was never much money and although my mother tried to be there, suffering from a mental illness sometimes made it difficult. The only constant was my little brother Joshua; he was there through everything and was there to talk to when things got just a little too much to handle. Although some people are never close with their siblings, having a sibling to share life experiences with is rewarding and beneficial to personal and social development.
While growing up there are only so many opportunities you have to learn how to share; and to learn, of course, that sharing can be unfair. When you have siblings you learn that at a very young age and accept it as a social nicety by school age. Yet without a sibling you have no opportunity to learn to share things at a young age and the adjustment can be confusing. In a sibling household you learn about helping out and being a productive contributor to the smooth functioning of the house, whereas in a single child household there isn’t such an opportunity.
On the opposite spectrum of things having siblings can teach you about tolerance and acceptance. Some siblings cannot get along under any circumstances but the experience of being forced to live under the same roof and abide by the same rules can be a great life lesson in tolerance. It would seem that a large number of siblings are at odds during school years but as they age and experience more together, be it forced or not, find common ground and in most cases a friendship. Once people grow up and mature they usually realize even if they couldn’t get along in their early years; they shared so much together they have an everlasting bond.
It is common to hear people say ‘you can choose your friends but you can’t choose your family’ yet you can always