Are there any benefits to having adult siblings?

[Marinetta]

My partner and I both have siblings but have infrequent contact with all of them and rarely see any of them. The lack of effort and interest comes from both sides and we aren't really bothered about the lack of contact we have with our siblings. The other day we were discussing the advantages and disadvantages of having siblings and we could not come up with any positives about having a sibling as an adult. Just wondering if everyone else feels this way about their siblings now they are an adult or are people still grateful that they have siblings now that they are older?

I adore my brother (he's younger than me) although we spent a lot of our younger years being rather distant from one another. Now our parents are gone. we are the only two that remember our childhood; he looked after our mother when she had dementia (I was 350 miles away) and he keeps contact with our wider circle of relations (again, I am a long way away).

My DBro is one of my best friends and has been a huge support to me through all sorts of crap (and vice versa). My mental health issues, my marriage almost breaking down, our dad dying, our mum getting more frail... I couldn’t imagine navigating some of this stuff without him.

I agree with Zaphod, the shared childhood memories are priceless.

My auntie has commented that she and her sister have almost the opposite memories of their childhood - they have conflicting accounts of the same events. since my granny died they’ve given up talking to each other as they now have no reason to pretend they get on 🤷🏻‍♀️

Perhaps it's just the way you are? I have two brothers and a sister and we have a family whatsapp group to chat in. I wouldn't ever be without them, I love having siblings! It isn't even the childhood memories, my sister and youngest brother were under 5 when I moved out.

We share hobbies, a lot of life views, I've gone on holiday with all of them as adults. It will be a huge help when my parents need care in the future, and we're already on papers as powers of attorney etc - that's all divvied up and shared responsibility between us.

More brains to think of Christmas and birthday present ideas! More shared lifts or shared costs of transport. Having people who understand your history and can therefore talk you through worries or concerns caused by that history that other people might totally not understand.

Nieces and nephews!

Shared responsibility for grandparents too - love mine but they're not always easy even to hold a conversation with.

A lot of this depends on you getting on reasonably/being at the same family gatherings though. I'm lucky I get on with most of mine

Yes, huge advantages, I love my sister and moved to be nearer her. We are back up for each other while still having separate lives and friends, it does help that are kids are similar ages. If she comes round it's just totally relaxed although we do bicker it doesn't matter.
My husband's brother is also great and very important to my husband although they live much further away. He's a lovely man and it would be great to see more of him.

Really close to my brother and sister
Speak/Text/See to my sister pretty much daily, see my brother at least once a fortnight.
All our children play get together too.

I have half sisters who I love dearly.
We have a great sibling relationship.
My little sister was totally my best friend.
We did everything together.
Going out, holidays, family days at mum and dads, tabulators Christmases.
She sadly died and not only did I lose my little sister, I lost my very best friend.
I will never fully get over it.
In fact, I'm still pretty much in denial phase.
But I can't imagine what my life would have been like without her in it!

I realise though how lucky I am.
So many people have hideous siblings.
Or maybe siblings that just aren't that close.
We are a very close family - on all 3 sides.

I moved a long way from my sister and I feel conflicted about it. We weren't so close when my ds was young as she has elected to remain child free, but now that he is older it feels like we have more in common again. We speak daily on WhatsApp and regularly on the phone. If for any reason we lost our close relationship I would absolutely mourn it.

Both of my parents have died over the last couple of years. My siblings have been a mix of infuriating and invaluable through it all (I suspect they’d say the same if me). Ive been executor each time and done the vast bulk of ‘stuff’ but it’s been really important to know they are around.
We’ve shared memories and supported each other.
Other than that though we are all very different, lead quite disparate lives and I wonder what the future of our relationship will bring without any parent to kind of ‘glue is’ and be good reason for gatherings and seeing each other pretty frequently.
Psychologically I love it that I have them. Practically I’m not so sure.

Me and my brother are very different people. We don't meet up that often but i know that if i need him, day or night, he will come. He accepts me for who I am, I conditionally and has my back no matter what. I don't feel that we know each other that well any more but he's my brother and we will be there for each other no matter what. He's the only person in my life I can 100% say that about. My husband is great and knows me inside out but who knows what will happen in ten years. My brother, no matter what, in ten years will still be there if I need him

other than friendship and our DC being very close, the biggest, absolutely massive benefit has been with regard to ageing parents. Someone to share everything with, chat to about, support each other etc etc.

Even my young DC, who is an only, has picked up on this benefit.

I've always longed for a close relationship with my three siblings but they're not bothered. Not with me or one another.

My sister and i are completely different and ten years she moved to another country. She makes no attempt to keep in touch and expects me to take on all the work of looking after our aging parents. She just swans in for yearly visits and thinks everything is rosy.

I get on much better with my DH's siblings and would consider them both friends.

I have a great relationship with all my siblings. I don't live near them but they are always there to support and talk to. However so are my friends.

I think it just depends on the person you are and the siblings you get. In equal amounts I know people who have great relationships with siblings and others who despise each other. I have seen first hand how different sibling viewpoints can destroy families. This happened when a grandparent of mine died recently. Now none of the 7 siblings speak and are unlikely to reconcile- this was over funeral and inheritance opinion so. My dm talks about the stress of the sibling issue was almost as traumatic as losing the parent.

We talk on special occasions or if we bump into one another. No fall out or anything just different people.

I'm close to DBro, although we are different people. But we see each other very regularly.

I've got both sides of this.

My DB is one of my closest friends, is like a brother to DH too, and I barely go a day without texting/speaking to him. His wife is a gem, their DC is fab and gets on brilliantly with my DC. We see each other as often as we can, usually at least once a month.

DSis I could really do without, she's emotionally manipulative and makes everything about her, which causes ripples through the wider family. She's flat-out blanked me for almost four months now, so I've reached a stage of indifference I don't think I'll come back from. It's sad, but the crux of it is we're different people who, despite having the same parents, were raised very differently.

Me and my sister are chalk and cheese. But we get on great. She went travelling for 6 months when she was 18 and I had worse empty nest than our parents.

I have 5 siblings. We are a close family. I would be lost without my sister's. With my brother's i have to make the effort, as they are both lazy about keeping in touch.
If I need any of my siblings I know they would be there for me.

I am v close to my 4 sisters and would call one of them my best friend. We have each other to vent about our parents and share the load when they get ill/old and need more support.

I’m going through a marriage breakup at the moment and their support with me and my children has been invaluable.

I hope my children have the same relationship when they are adults

I adore my siblings, and we see each other a lot.

Advantages are: the family bond and shared childhood experiences/memories. For me, there's just something extra - like 'blood is thicker than water'. When Dad died, I came realise this all the more, and to have others to share the grief/responsibility with was invaluable.

I know this isn't everyone's experience, sadly, but it was mine. My DB lives far away, but when we get together, that bond is just always there. I see my DSisters a lot. I constantly encourage a similar relationship between my own children.

I have 2 older sisters , and the one that is 18 months older than me is my best friend and always has been . We have so much in common . We lost our mum in Feb after a very hard 8 month illness where all 3 of us helped nurse her at home which has actually bought me closer o the oldest sister as well .

OP, of course you don't see any advantages if you have no interest or personal connection in your siblings. I grew up as practically an only child as my half siblings were so much older than me and were out of the house by the time I was 9. I didn't really get to know them until we were all adults. We are not as close as we might be (due to geography, mostly--I live 2000 miles away), but we still do have a connection and see each other at Christmas. As far as advantages go, my elder brother did most of the helping out with my mother when she became elderly, he has invited me on family vacations and has always been very kind to me. And even if none of my siblings had never done anything for me at all, an emotional connection is worth something.

I can see this from the other side, having no siblings. My parents are no longer together and each have health issues and everything tends to fall to me to take care of them, do admin, etc. I don't resent this at all but sometimes feel it would be nice to have a sibling to split the load.