Does anyone have older half-siblings?

[blondieblonde]

What was it like, especially if you didn't live with them/see them much.

Both me and DH have older half siblings. DHs are about 15-20 years older and they never really had a relationship. DH only saw them few times when younger then they went nc. They have only just met up again as mil died.

My half sister is 11 years older than me. We aren't close. Altho now i've got dc we are getting on better. When i was born she was horrible to me and resented me. Sadly it has affected her more than me. She has a large chip on her shoulder despite having 2 loving families (she remained the only for her mum and SD i was the only child for our dad and my mum).

Both DH and consider ourselves only children. As for all of our upbringing we were really.

I have 3 - two sisters and a brother. Get on great with sisters, NC with brother. We were brought up together, I never refer to them as half siblings unless i need to explain the relationship. My brother is an alcoholic twat which is why we're NC but I love my sisters dearly.

My older half siblings are 30+ years older than me. The majority I've never met. Of the 3 I have met I'm only in contact with 1.

I grew up with my half siblings.

They are close but as they were teens whe I was born they are close. I've always been on the outside.

They chose to turn on me when I refused to take sides in an argument. My opinion was that my dad took their side! I didn't speak to him for over 6 months as I was so upset with the way he spoke to me.

However when there is a crisis, I drop everything and help my parents out. They only turn up when they need something. I keep my children away from them after dd pointe out how often we were ignored at events! Only 3 of my nieces will be welcome at my 40th along with my parents. The rest can sod off.

I have two older half siblings - 9 and 7 years older than me. Lived together when i was young, one moved out when I was about 7 or 8, the other when I was 10 or 11 I guess? We're very close - they are my brother and sister, not my 'half' siblings. Not sure it makes a difference but we share the same mother and although they moved out when I was young, we did live together for a long time so developed a sibling relationship.

My friend has two half brothers - one 10 years younger than her (share a mum) and the other 16 years younger (share a dad). She sees both her brothers regularly and is very close to the one she lived with (sharing a mum). I've never heard her refer to them as her half brothers and I think she just considers them her brothers tbh. She does feel like her dad, stepmum and youngest brother are their own family unit, however, and at times I think she's struggled with that.

I have an older half brother. He has been insanely jealous of me since the day I was born. We have no relationship now because I have a zero tolerance policy towards his twattishness. Unfortunately he was allowed to ruin my childhood & I have no happy memories of us growing up together.

I'm an older half sibling, by 20years.

Nothing at all stressful about it, in fact I love having younger siblings. They are 13 & 11 and I see them nearly every weekend, they love playing with my kids 2 & 7mo. I help them with homework, we take the dog for a walk, normal stuff. It helps that I really like my step mum and my dad wants us to all actively be involved in his new family.

9 yrs older than me, lived with me, abusive at times. We have almost no contact now. I feel sorry for them. Suspect they were abused as small children.

I am one. By 7-10 years

I see them as my sisters ie no half.

We were raised as a family, their dad has been my stepdad longer than he has been their dad!

My father was called uncle by them before he died, he loved them too (in a differed way to us I think)

It will be stressful only if you make it stressful! They are all siblings.

Your dp's and yours is to help the older kids feel connected to their siblings and the new family dynamic, that way they will hopefully feel a natural relationship with each other.

DB is 8 years older than me and we were very close for a long time. We shared DM and his DF was dead. Sadly, he proved to be very narcissistic and I eventually had to cut contact with him. I know where he is and I can contact him via Facebook messenger if the need arises. I do miss the person I thought he was, but I don't miss the endless neediness and his expectation that he would always be first.

Your dp's and yours job*

My DD12 has an older half brother and sister. Her dad has split up with both of us though (their mum then me obviously) so we all keep in touch and DD's DSis often comes away with us (DB is older and away from home). I think this works better than if I was still together with their dad!

I don't but my mum did. Never mentioned him until after my grandmother died, had lost contact with him. He had a family (my cousins) whom I have never met.

2 half sisters, my mums daughter is 14 years older than me and grew up with me, dad's dd is 5 years older than me and grew up with her DM. I didn't even know she existed till I was 15. We emigrated when I was little and came back when I was an adult. Dsis1 was married and stayed. She's been over a few times and bitterly regrets being made to leave England at 17. Dsis2 accepted me and dsis1 as her sisters. We don't see each other as much we'd like, she lives at the other end of the country. Just reminded me to ring her tonight.

My DH has an older half sister, but she lives on the other side of the world and they've never met. He didn't even know she existed until after their dad died, so he was in his late 20s.

We're hoping to meet her at some point, and are in touch through FB. She is more in touch with my MIL and SIL though and skypes them regularly.

I have 2 older paternal half brothers. My mum met my dad when they were 1 and 4, and married him 2 years later. Dad had custody of them. I was born when they were 6 and 8 and we agrew up together until they were teens and have the same surname, so the "half" is almost irrelevant. (When I was 7 and they were in their teens my/our dad went abroad for work for a few years and their mum wouldn't let them go too. They visited in holidays and were at uni by the time we got back to the uk).

When their mum died a few years ago my mum went to her funeral "to support my boys".

For years no one realised my mum wasn't theirs, just assumed she was very young when she "had" them (she would have been 19 when the older one was born).

I actually bear much more resemblance to my half brothers, and we have much more in common, than my younger"whole" sister. She and I could be from completely different gene pools!

My half siblings are all at least 20 years older. I loved being an auntie as a teenager, just sad as my nephews and nieces reached adulthood and realise I'm no longer cool! My half siblings have stepped in when my parents couldn't for health reasons and become younger active grandparent roles for my babies and my neice is particularly grateful as this takes the pressure of her to have kids! Only stresses are usual family dynamics, nothing to do with age gaps more complicated families

3 older half brothers 32, 37 and 40 they're my dads sons.

They lived with there mum but my mum was very close to her (she helped my mum alot when my dad fucked off and left my mum pregnant with me) and she used to babysit me and i used to stay there at weekends, it was a bit odd to everyone else but i loved it.

Im still very close to 2 of them now and see them quite often, we live about 20 mins from eachother. The oldest moved away but i see him once or twice a year.

I have a half-brother eleven years older than me. He's an absolute dick, but that's nothing to do with him being a half-sibling, he's just a monumental cockwomble. Thankfully he fucked off out of the family home just before I went to senior school and I've barely heard from him since.

Two half sisters, two half brothers, almost 20 years between me and the eldest. Brought up in the same house, but I can't remember a lot of it, the last one moved out when I was about five. I have never ever called them anything other than my brothers and sisters because that's how I see them. I felt very special at school saying I had three brothers and two sisters (also have a bro a year younger than me). We all have a great relationship, and their children (my nieces & nephews) are more like friends now we are all grown up.

I've 5 step siblings, I'm the older sibling. 2 from my step dad and 3 from my dad.

From my step dad, there is about 12 years between us and tbh, as I'm not a fan of my stepdad it's probably rubbed off as I don't feel anything for his two daughters, I've never lived with them and tbh, wouldn't see them as related to me as such.

The 3 from my dad I've never met, he's just had his newest child and as I'm becoming a mum myself ATM, I've no interest in being another big sister to kids 25-28 years my junior.

I really don't consider my step siblings at all in my day to day goings, not their fault. I'm sure they are lovely kids, but as I live abroad from there, I find it hard enough to keep my sibling bond with my own brothers and sisters

I have an older half-brother, I didn't know about him until I was 21 for various complicated reasons - I'm now 41. We get on well and he's definitely family, I speak to him as often as I speak to my other brothers, but its not quite as comfortable she we meet up.
Since our dad died (his mum also died a few years ago and he's recent split up with his wife), I feel closer to him as we're his only family. He generally meet up a couple of times a year.

My dd has 5 adult half-siblings, 4 brothers and sisters-in-law, between 15 and 25 years older. her relationships with all of them are good, only problem is that birthdays and christmas can get a little out of hand. And that her adored big sis and bil are at the wrong end of the country, while the brothers who don't bother with her very much are within an hours drive. Day to day she's an only child, and her same-age cousins live abroad, so having nieces and nephews around her age fills that gap, iyswim. And she spends some of the holidays with her big brothers and sisters which is great.

It did mean that when asked to draw a picture of her family in the reception class she was a bit puzzled about how many people were in it. But no more so than her classmate who hadn't yet worked out which of his friends were cousins (5 in school).

I don't think it has been stressful for her, but adapting to her arrival was certainly stressful for her half-siblings at the time

dowhatyoulove you've described all those people as Step siblings, when actually only the first 2 are. The children your Dad had had with someone else are your half siblings as you are biologically related.

Step siblings is only a term for siblings by marriage to which you have no biological bond.

I'm also shocked how many people don't get the difference.

I had two half-sisters, sadly only one now. It was lovely as a child, the only stress was caused by the adults not getting on!!