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Tell me about the relationships you have with your siblings

75 replies

Cloudsandrainbows · 29/03/2021 08:23

I wanted to know who of you out there are an only child? Do you wish you had siblings? Why? Who has siblings and wishes they didn't? Anyone have a step or half sibling? What is your relationship with them as an adult? Have anyones experience as a child with or without siblings influenced your own choice on having a child/children? Just really interested! So many pros and cons to only child vs a brood! Thanks

OP posts:
TheChosenTwo · 29/03/2021 08:26

I have a great relationship with both my siblings, one a few years older and one 15 years younger.
All very close despite not seeing each other a huge amount, we all speak regularly and I think they’re the kindest, funniest people I know.
And actually they are both half siblings but we would never describe each other as that, we are all considered just to be brothers and sisters to each other. Not that there’s anything wrong with them being half siblings, but we were all brought up together in exactly the same way, I don’t ever really think about the logistics of it to be honest.

Cloudsandrainbows · 29/03/2021 08:30

Did you all grow up in the same household? So lovely to hear you have such a great bond 💓

OP posts:
CP26 · 29/03/2021 08:45

My brother and I didn’t get on at all when I was growing up, we fought all the time and I think it was very stressful for my parents. I probably would have had a happier childhood as an only child.

But now that we’re adults I really appreciate having him in my life, we’ve both matured a lot and I love being an Aunty to his kids. My husband and I may not be able to have kids ourselves so I know I’ll appreciate him even more when my own parents pass away as I would have very little family otherwise.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

LudoBear · 29/03/2021 08:46

I have a brother, 22 months older than me, who I love to bits but sadly it's an awkward relationship which is my own fault.

Growing up I was a horrible child, constantly getting angry at my mum and brother if things didn't go my way. Turns out I have ADHD and I reacted the way I did as a child due to the ADHD. However my brother can't forget the way I treated him. Once he he was 18 he was about to get on a coach for 8 hours. We argued over something and I told him I hope the coach crashes and he dies. Horrific nasty evil thing to have said and I can never forgive myself for that. He even wanted my mum to get rid of me as a child.

Now we are in our 30s. He knows I will always be there for him and vice versa but he still sees me as the child who made his childhood hell. He never voices that opinion but I know its how he feels.

He lives 7 miles from me. I see him every Friday and Sunday to take his daughter to him & pick her up (neither him or his ex drive and buses are beyond rubbish here) but literally he comes to car to bring/get her bags and that's it really. But I know I can ring him and he'll come do DIY jobs for me etc.

God I didn't plan to write all that. Makes me sad and angry that we aren't close. I love him more than words can express and I'd be lost without him.

mdh2020 · 29/03/2021 08:46

My husband and I are both the middle one in families of three children. It was one of the first things we talked about when we met and we both agreed we would never , ever have three children. I don’t speak to my older sister and we avoid each other (she now avoids the whole family) and my younger sister lives near us but we are not close. We are quite spread out by age and, looking back, I don’t think we were ever very close but we did get on.
I have a son and a daughter. They are grown up and are very close. My daughter says she never wanted a sister and has never missed not having one.

justanotherneighinparadise · 29/03/2021 08:47

I have zero relationship with my sibling and I’m grateful for that. I do think it can be an enriching experience for many, so I’m glad I have two children and hope their bond will continue into adulthood, but for those who are only children I also think they’re not necessarily missing out.

justanotherneighinparadise · 29/03/2021 08:50

@LudoBear

I have a brother, 22 months older than me, who I love to bits but sadly it's an awkward relationship which is my own fault.

Growing up I was a horrible child, constantly getting angry at my mum and brother if things didn't go my way. Turns out I have ADHD and I reacted the way I did as a child due to the ADHD. However my brother can't forget the way I treated him. Once he he was 18 he was about to get on a coach for 8 hours. We argued over something and I told him I hope the coach crashes and he dies. Horrific nasty evil thing to have said and I can never forgive myself for that. He even wanted my mum to get rid of me as a child.

Now we are in our 30s. He knows I will always be there for him and vice versa but he still sees me as the child who made his childhood hell. He never voices that opinion but I know its how he feels.

He lives 7 miles from me. I see him every Friday and Sunday to take his daughter to him & pick her up (neither him or his ex drive and buses are beyond rubbish here) but literally he comes to car to bring/get her bags and that's it really. But I know I can ring him and he'll come do DIY jobs for me etc.

God I didn't plan to write all that. Makes me sad and angry that we aren't close. I love him more than words can express and I'd be lost without him.

😔. That’s sad @LudoBear

Have you tried to write him a letter to tell him how much you regret the things you did and try and give him an explanation? I wonder if you could just write it down he would forgive you and you could forgive yourself?

JorisBonson · 29/03/2021 08:51

There's 8 years between me and my brother. I love him and would do anything for him, but I don't particularly like him. We're chalk and cheese and I wouldn't choose to know him if we weren't related.

Thisbastardcomputer · 29/03/2021 08:55

I'm the eldest of 4 siblings, I'm in my early sixties.

Growing up I was permanently out of favour with Mother, she's a product of her generation, far too concerned about what people might think. She would have had me in ankle socks, Clark's sandals at 15, I was having non of it. Dad was reasonably ok but permanently at work.

Relationship with siblings at that time, I was the devil from Mother's perspective, but the kids more or less ignored this directive and we had a good relationship.

Dad died at 58 which us kids took hard, I was 33, the youngest was 23.

Mother is still alive and coming up 90, she's got Alzheimer's but as a result, she's so nice, pleasant and makes non of the sarcastic remarks she used to make.

I have a bit of a distant relationship with my siblings now, but we get in touch now and again, I'd say I'm closer to youngest brother.

EmpressWitchDoesntBurn · 29/03/2021 08:55

You might find this thread interesting OP, it seems to be a popular question at the moment. www.mumsnet.com/Talk/_chat/4204360-If-you-are-one-of-three-children

IdblowJonSnow · 29/03/2021 08:58

Pretty awful/non existent.
I've had spells of getting on with one of them but it was me who made the effort, did all the running and I cba anymore.

JensonsAcolyte · 29/03/2021 09:04

I have a sister a year younger who is my best friend in all the world, we are very different but get along great, she’s in my bubble so throughout lockdown we’ve been able to spend time together which has been sanity saving.

My younger sister is eight years younger and an absolute sweetheart. She’s quite ditzy and unworldly though so doesn’t tend to socialise with us as much as we have totally different interests (she doesn’t drink, doesn’t do politics or world events, I think she finds us quite intense).

My much younger brother is a whopping fifteen years younger than me. He’s an argumentative agitator who lives to wind us all up but we love him. I’d left home by the time he was a toddler so we didn’t grow up together.

We all speak several times a day on the family WhatsApp, along with our parents, so I’d say we’re a very close family.

WiseOwlOne · 29/03/2021 09:05

Distant and formal.

My whole family has the kind of relationship where we talk about the weather and the garden. My brother thinks he is close to our parents but he isn't, they're just all on the same page with him being the golden child. He doesn't tell them anything. He couldn't, they wouldn't be receptive to anything 'real'. They're all playing their parts.

Chimeraforce · 29/03/2021 09:11

I'm the eldest of 3.
Ive got one child. Don't want more.
Tbh, I found that being responsible for younger siblings put me off being a mother.
I relished leaving home and being selfish.
Saying that, I loved my brother and still do. He's pretty amazing.
I wish my sister well but tbh, when she came along, smart, musically talented and with legs up to her armpits, it was game over for me. Bitter rivalry.
I feel I'd have been happier if they'd stopped at 2.

OatcakeCravings · 29/03/2021 09:15

I have a sister and a brother, I last spoke to them at my mothers funeral 7 years ago. I wish I had been an only child! My DS is.

WiseOwlOne · 29/03/2021 09:23

@LudoBear

I have a brother, 22 months older than me, who I love to bits but sadly it's an awkward relationship which is my own fault.

Growing up I was a horrible child, constantly getting angry at my mum and brother if things didn't go my way. Turns out I have ADHD and I reacted the way I did as a child due to the ADHD. However my brother can't forget the way I treated him. Once he he was 18 he was about to get on a coach for 8 hours. We argued over something and I told him I hope the coach crashes and he dies. Horrific nasty evil thing to have said and I can never forgive myself for that. He even wanted my mum to get rid of me as a child.

Now we are in our 30s. He knows I will always be there for him and vice versa but he still sees me as the child who made his childhood hell. He never voices that opinion but I know its how he feels.

He lives 7 miles from me. I see him every Friday and Sunday to take his daughter to him & pick her up (neither him or his ex drive and buses are beyond rubbish here) but literally he comes to car to bring/get her bags and that's it really. But I know I can ring him and he'll come do DIY jobs for me etc.

God I didn't plan to write all that. Makes me sad and angry that we aren't close. I love him more than words can express and I'd be lost without him.

This is interesting, and I feel a parallel. Although it wasn't me who had the undiagnosed &/or unsupported issues growing up, there was a similarly ignored dynamic growing up in my family.

My younger brother may be on the spectrum mildly. He's very successful academically and professionally but when he was younger he struggled with all of the normal expectations outside of them home, and he struggled socially - although he seems ok now.

But the point I'm making here is that I place the responsibility for him being very aggressive and angry to me when we were children squarely on to our parents.

They should have protected me and they didn't. He was the favourite so they just wanted me to shut up and if he attacked me and I called for help, they came, but the anger they felt was directed at me. In their eyes, I was causing it and yeh I ended up with an abusive man

In an unhealthy family dynamic we are just never allowed to move past the character they project on to us. You'll always be ''ructions'' in your family's eyes.

My psychotherapist was helping me join up dots a while ago.

My family used me to feel better about themselves. I have a million examples of this and they were all frustrating arguments that wore me out at the time but I didn't see the crux of what was going on.

I did grow up feeling disbelieved, belittled, invalidated, unprotected ... and yet my family for all that they failed me in such a huge way, they still thoroughly enjoy projecting the image of me back on to me.

They had to ignore his bullying of me and make it my fault or they'd have failed to parent in a very basic way and they are not going there.

I have been lc for a year now, nearly, because they say such incredibly hurtful things and then defend their right to have said them and then tell me I have hurt them asking them not to be hurtful iyswim Confused

My role in the family is to be the stupid, unreasonable, awkward one. And even having stepped back for a year, the narrative is still that I'm sensitive, ridiculous, dramatic. They've learnt nothing. They certainly haven't learnt that they cannot keep hurting me.

Mabelface · 29/03/2021 09:25

One of 6. One brother and sister have removed themselves from the family for imagined slights. 2 other sisters in close to, my eldest sis in particular, and a distant but lovely brother. Too many of us.

Cocopogo · 29/03/2021 09:26

I have a rubbish relationship with my DB. I wish I was an only child. I’d have been happier, growing up and now. However, I have more than one DC it didn’t affect my decision but my kids are similar to me and DB. They don’t get along and would have preferred to be alone.

WiseOwlOne · 29/03/2021 09:30

Yeh, my kids are like this too, they don't get on and are totally different, and to my shame I have also failed to protect my daughter. I have been more aware of the fact that my son can be aggressive when he's angry though, i haven't blamed her, but at the same point, I'm a single parent, I work full time, and my advice to her has been in her eyes very dissatisfactory ''stay out of his way!!'' but I cannot control an angry teenage boy either, and in some ways, I see how ridiculous this expectation is now, but my brother was a child when my parents rushed in to the sound of me screamed and then blamed me for annoying him. so it is different. I still feel a failure though.

Cocopogo · 29/03/2021 09:31

@LudoBear it’s interesting that he happy for you to pick his daughter up. I have a fraught childhood with my DB, we fought like cat n dog for years but I think it was def 6 of one.. however even now he won’t let me near nephew, he doesn’t say anything but every time I suggest taking nephew out anywhere with my DC or just back to my house he makes an excuse.

CMOTDibbler · 29/03/2021 09:37

I don't have a relationship with my brother. Nothing awful has happened, but he left home at 18, and very rarely came back. Once I went to uni I saw him even less, and he was never interested in building a relationship.
Both our parents died last year and I made all the arrangements (and had sorted everything with their care before that) and all he was interested in was getting his money. Once that is finalised next month I won't speak to him ever again

Aria2015 · 29/03/2021 09:43

I'm one of four. Close to all my siblings as an adult and glad to have them. I personally wouldn't have four myself though as my personal experience is, that you can't give each child the attention they deserve. That's not to say that you can't love them all endlessly, but there are only so many hours in a day and when you throw in other factors like work and a marriage etc... that just doesn't leave much time for one-on-one time with each child and it's easy to miss those subtle little cues children give off when they've had a bad day or they're struggling with something. I think I found it especially hard as I'm quite introverted and when there's a lot of you, you need to pipe up to be heard or risk falling under the radar and I felt like I fell under the radar quite a lot.

Ploughingthrough · 29/03/2021 09:46

I've two older siblings. I love them both and we all get along but we all live in different countries now so arent especially close. I feel sad about this sometimes but it's the way it worked out and we had a fun childhood together.

FoxyTheFox · 29/03/2021 09:47

I'm really close with my siblings, we had some rough times during childhood with an emotionally unstable parent and resulting emotional abuse so we banded together. We don't see each other all of the time and we're not in each others pockets but we message one another and we're there for each other. I remember once DD was poorly and we ended up at A&E, we were in the children's RATU waiting to be admitted to the ward, I was by myself as DH had to stay at home with the other DC, and one of my brothers was messaging me for updates. He told me to go get myself a snack and a drink because it would help me feel better (I was obviously worried about my baby), I told him I couldn't because the shop was shut, it was nearly midnight, and I was by myself with DD as DH had to stay home with the other DC. Around thirty minutes later he appeared in the doorway, McDonald's coffee in one hand and shopping bag of snacks and sandwiches in the other.

FrankiesKnuckle · 29/03/2021 09:49

Disabled, younger sibling.
I was pretty much left out when they came along.

A sentence that has stayed with me from years ago was along the lines of "well X gets all the attention and you get nice Christmas presents that X will never have, so don't complain"

That's still very true, minus the presents.

I'm aware that I sound like a sulky, resentful child but there's a litany of comments and incidents over the years.

So, I have one child and one child only, who to me is perfect. I couldn't bring myself to try for another, and I didn't want to.