To ask about your relationship with your siblings?

[anametouse]

Honestly because I'm trying to decide if i should have another baby (fertility problems so can't leave it to fate, I have the money for another round of IVF which is how DS got here)

People keep saying he should have a sibling, but I don't know anyone who is close to their siblings. I'm an only child and was always happy as one.

How is your relationship with your siblings, were they a vital part of your childhood, do they make you happy?

My sister and I meet up a couple of times a year and text a couple of times a week.

We've recently lost our mum and I'm bloody glad I have her to split the practical tasks with and to help support dad.

I have 4 siblings and I love them with all my heart. Our parents and my husband have died and my siblings are everything to me. Obvs I adore my DCs but am overwhelmed by sole responsibility for them. Thank god I have my siblings to support me.
When we were young children, we did play together but as we grew up to teenagers, the age differences between us mattered and we all did our own things with our own friends.
Now we have children of our own, I love my nephews and nieces.
My DC1 was nearly an only child. I think that would have been absolutely fine for him in childhood but I have so appreciated my siblings later in life!

I adore one sister, she's my world , but my other is a narcissistic little witch and I avoid her at all costs.

But its all about upbringing.....so just be fair to each and intervene when needed, and you'll be ok!

I have an older sister and a younger brother (and as a result have middle child syndrome). I was closer to my sister until I came out of toddler stage, then closer to my brother. We all had a bit of a rocky childhood for various reasons and none of us came out unscathed, but I think it was better we went through it together. I'm not as close to them as I'd like (neither of them are easy to live with) but I love them dearly, and treasure the good childhood memories we had. For this reason, I really wanted a sibling for DD, even though it's such hard work, and we were just starting to get our lives back after 4-5 years.

I had 2 older sisters and we did not get on when we were children. Now we are grown up, I only have 1 left and we are really close.

me and my 2 sisters are very close - both in age (3 years between the 3 of us) and in terms of our relationship. Got on well as kids barring the usual sibling stuff, get on well as adults some 40 odd years later.
I have twins who are without a doubt each other's best friends (they are nearly 6) and I love seeing them play together and hope they will always be close
If I'd had a singleton I would prob have wanted a sibling because I have such a good relationship with mine. But of course there is no guarantee and I'm not sure it's the way to decide whether to have another child :-)

Love my sister with all my heart. She is my best friend.

Put up with my brother, don't really get on. But glad to have him nonetheless.

I have a sister 16 months older and a brother 3 1/2 years older. My sister has always been my best friend in life and my brother and I have got on brilliantly from when he was about 12. I didn't have much time for him before that TBH. I can't imagine life without them, even thought we are not close in distance, we remain very close and supportive of each other.

I'm 1 of 4.

Elder brother I have very little to do with we just don't gel, and I really dislike his wife. Both are very religious and force it down my throats and I hate that.

Me and my sister had a troubled relationship up until mid teens - we are now close and I am very protective of her due to both of us suffering the same illness but hers is worse.

My younger brother is great, he's a good lad, I don't see him often but when I do it's a right laugh, he doesn't get on well with anyone but me, also dislikes elder brother and our sister.

My children hate each other, are incapable of being nice and I suspect they will have a strained relationship when older. Dc1 gets very very jealous of dc2. Dc2 is lovely and wants to share/play etc it's dc1 who doesn't.

One sister who has improved over the years. Get on well.
Brother who lives 11000 miles away. Never hear from him one year to next. See him every 3 years.
My dds. Chalk and cheese but now closer. Little one (10/12 year gap) wishes with all her heart that she had a sibling same age x

Six of us.

I am extremely close to two, two ok, love hate with the other one. This sister is loathed by two others who refuse any contact at all. The other two aren't keen and one has said as soon as Mum dies she will never speak to her again.

I'm an only as is DS & so is DM. DF has a sister he's NC with. Slightly better on DH's side of the family although a lot of it is pretence. Do what's best for you.

I have 2 older brothers, they are 5 and 7 years older than me. We did not get on growing up, and it's amazing that we didn't kill each other. My brothers would fight with each other. Both of my brothers are very intelligent, but my eldest brother extremely intelligent. I was basically ignored by him. My other brother would beat me up every day.

We get on really well now that we don't all live together. My eldest brother is now settled down, and lovely to talk to. My other brother is the sweetest, kindest and most gentle man. You would never imagine how he used to thump me and beat me up. We also chat a lot. They live abroad, and we're not "close", but we do now have lovely relationships.

Three girls with us. I'm the youngest. We used to play together but also fight. As adults we get on. I speak to both of them about every other day. I can tell them anything. But they aren't always balanced/unbiased with their responses. They would support me without question if something went wrong for me. If we fall out, we will mend the relationship. One dsis has done something pretty shitty to me this year. I am really angry. But I will just distance myself a bit until I feel better about it. I know ultimately, the relationship will be repaired. Which is different to a relationship with a friend I think. It can sometimes feel like you're living in a goldfish bowl. They both have an opinion on pretty much everything I do. But on the other hand it's a huge support.

I think an only is fine as long as you invite people round, involve them in activities myself. It can come with some huge advantages. The only dc I have as friends are good at making/keeping friends. Two of them have retired really early because of inheritances. They 've had good lives on the whole I think. One was surprised to hear I felt lonely as a dc. I did very often. It's not really about the number of siblings you have I think. There was quite a lack of parental attention - I pretty much had to fathom everything out myself.

One sibling ten years older than me. 36 years after my birth and she still hasn't forgiven me to removing her 'precious only child' status from her.

Probably seen her 5 times over the last 12 years, not at all for over 3.5 years. Will probably only see her at a couple of funerals from now on.

Our relationship is so bad, and her treatment of me so terrible, that I once had a panic attack when I walked past her. Luckily she didn't notice me (live 300 miles away from her, she had no idea I was in her city that weekend).

Perhaps not too surprisingly, given her narc tendencies, I suspect she thinks we have the perfect relationship, other than the distance between us.