What do siblings add to your life if they are 6 plus years younger

[justwouldliketoknow]

I've missed the boat to have my dcs close together in age and so now have an older ds. Dh is trying to convince me to try for another baby. I am reluctant for a number of reasons . Dh says we should do it for ds. I'm an only and don't feel like I've missed out on anything. I also think the benefit of siblings come when they are closer in age and play together. Not sure I can see many positives for a 7yo. DH says they will have each other when older and adults

So as I have never experienced sibling relationships can you enlighten me on what they are like pls

Me and my half sister have a nearly 10 year gap and we're best mates. She's just turned 16 so starting to feel like a proper grown up and I've just asked her to be my maid of honour.

There are 21 years between my father and his only sibling!

They are close and mutually supportive. Would not be without each other. And have been spared all the petty jealousies of childhood.

There is nearly 7 years between my DD2 and DS. They are very close - as is DS with DD1 - who is 10 years older. The relationships are different from those with a closer age gap. But not less.

16 years between me and my sister. She is my best friend. Can’t imagine life without her.

7 years between me and my brother (he's older) and we are really close, I have a sister 3 years older and we don't really get on

DS is 6 years older than DD and they are so close, he's extremely protective and loves playing with and looking after her

They will have someone to share the burden of looking after you when you are old and decrepit.

In terms of becoming a mother again after a gap (we have 6.5 years), yes it's tiring, you've forgotten about the back-breaking-irrational-small-whirlwind-toddler years, but when they say "night night brother, love you", it's all worth it. It's actually quite a lot more amusing the second time round too. Plus ds1 now has someone to talk to about Star Wars, which I've avoided for 38 years and don't intend to get into now! This is all aside from the obvious benefits of having the older one at school, giving you quality time with the new one. I couldn't have managed a small gap.

There is 6 years between ds1 and ds2 (with dd in between) and they have a very close relationship.

7years between me and my sister, then 10, then 11. Didn't have anything in common as kids/teens but now I'm nearing 30 we're all really close. Some references go over my head though. Nobody else in the world shares your up bringing like a sibling. Also on another very morbid note, when you go they'll have still have family.

I was an only child until I was 13 then my three half sisters and brother all started popping out. My parents split when I was very young (so was they to be fair) then had other children with each of their respective partners. The biggest age gap is between myself (28) and my brother who is 9!

I am more like a cool Aunt to my brother however now the girls are getting older we are finding some common ground. They come to me for makeup and boy issues so it's kind of fun!

My family is really complicated

Couldn't imagine life without my little sister, 10 years between us. She's invaluable in many ways to me, as is my brother who is 3 years younger than me. But my relationship with each of them is different, albeit just as close, never been sure whether that's due to sister/brother vs. sister/sister relationships, or the age thing.

Either way, I am so damn grateful my folks decided on a third (and a second) child, and the age difference has had far more positives than negatives over the years, for us both.

Plenty. There are 10 years between my brother and I. 10 years between my brother and sister. 20 years between my sister and I. We were born 10 years apart, I'm 25, brother is 15, sister is 5.
Being older meant I could do so much more and help out. I loved it.

No guarantees either way. I know plenty of siblings with a small age gap, that don't get on at all. There is only 3 years between my husband and his younger brother and they fought constantly growing up. They don't fight now, but certainly no love lost between them. Seven years between my 2 daughters, and my son between them. They all have a great relationship. They fought as kids, but are crazy protective of each other now.

12 years between DS1(24) and DS2(12) and they adore each other: DS1 is always taking his little brother on days out or to the cinema and he's a great role model: it has much more gravitas when your cool big bro tells you to work hard at school than when your old mum does.

Blimey this is not really helping my argument against dh!

I thought there would be loads of "my sibling ruined my life I was so resentful when they came along that I had to share my parents and they stopped me enjoying activities like bowling and cinema. and days out because we had to go to soft play .. type stuff!

Ok maybe I have really missed out as an only but just never knew it! To be fair to dps they did not have a choice in the matter as they couldn't have any more . That's a big difference to me choosing to keep ds an only ..

Food for thought thanks ...

My DSD is 6 and my DD is 5 months - my DSD adores her new baby sister! As soon as the baby murmurs she goes running nothing is too much trouble for the baby.
I know they'll probably drift apart at some point but it makes my heart burst to see them together now.

Another one saying a big age gap is fine! I have 8yo and 2yo sons and they adore each other. The youngest has really completed our family and his older brother gets so much joy from him despite them being totally different personalities!

17 years betweeb me and db. I love him more like an aunt would i guess because obv we dont live together.

I do think though (bit morbid) when parents die its probably nice to think youre not having to cope alone.

I'm 15 years older than my sister and we absolutely adore each other. I was too old to be jealous of her.

There is 12 years between dss and ds and tgey genuinely adore each other.

Six years between me and younger brother and we are really good friends. We got on fairly well growing up as fairly similar personalities, but I did sometimes get fed up of having to do ‘babyish’ things as a family to accommodate him. As adults we’re really very close and I wouldn’t be without him. He adores my toddler DS, who in turn absolutely loves his uncle.

I'm the oldest of 6 and the youngest 3 are 6, 7 and 12 years younger than me.
My youngest brother has always been my special buddy. I adored him from the minute he was born and we're very close.

8 yrs between my brother and I (although I have two sisters in between) We are very close!

Glad to know you think I’m totally useless and add nothing to my siblings life because there is a big age gap. Thanks.

7 yrs between us and we’ve always been very close, but especially since parents died.