How does your sibling relationship look like?

[bell1989]

I have two sisters and two brothers. We're close on the sense that when we get together we get along great. We don't see each other often or speak everyday as much as I would like to. But they are not like that.

I've got four sisters but I did not grow up with them because they were from my mum's first marriage. By the time I was five they had all left home.

For some years we would exchange Christmas cards and meet up at family gatherings occasionally.

We were a very poor working class family with very low educational standards, but I raised myself up, got a university degree and am now quite well known in my professional field.

Unfortunately my sisters seem to be offended by me having ideas above my station and now three of the four of them are so jealous of me that they have completely shunned me and cut me out of their lives. I have never done anything bad to them by the way they simply cannot cope with my success.

One sister. We are distant, always have been. She bullied me growing up, and we haven't bonded as adults. She's a closed book, and has no interest in DM and me.

One brother, 18 months younger. Very warm relationship. I wouldnt say super close in the sense he isn't the person I would go to if something is wrong or vice versa. But we love each other, he adores my DD and she him, he and my DH have lovely relationship and we all have lots of fun when we are together. Probably see each other at least every couple of months and have a relatively active if light weight what's app chat.

I have three siblings, older brother, younger brother and younger sister and I love them all dearly.

We live close to each other, with our parents also nearby and see each other regularly both at big, whole family things and individually, two or three of us depending what the thing we’re doing is…

We like each other’s partners/spouses and our children are all close and love the ‘cousin parties!’

Real life Waltons and I know I’m very lucky!

See each other some birthdays, every Xmas, possibly once or twice in between. We text before birthday (what do you/niece/etc want)
That's it
Get on well enough when we do see each other. But not close. We have nothing in common except blood.
My parents mentioned trying to arrange a family week away for my siblings big birthday next year. I'll go, but am already dreading it. A week is a long time.

1 younger brother who lives 250 miles away so we see each other maybe twice a year. We’ll have an occasional long phone call and sporadic but lengthy text exchanges and all our communication is warm and meaningful. Last time he was here we sat up until morning drinking wine and talking. I feel that we’re emotionally very close and there for each other when needed but we live our lives quite separately without dependency or expectations.

One brother. We only talk if I go and visit him at his house, but he live 80 miles away so...Never text or phone, unless it's to arrange something for our wider family. But if I needed him for something & made a specific request, he'd help. We don't have much in common and are both introverted. So distant but tied by family loyalty.

1 older brother and we have got a lot closer since we both had kids. Don't speak often probably twice a week but I know of if I needed him for anything he would be there instantly just as I would be for him. He is my go to person for all car related things as I'm useless

We are very different and have virtually nothing in common. We're only in touch to a regular degree because we work together to support our very difficult mother's care.

Although we would never be friends if we met as strangers, we're fiercely loyal to each other and I will always have his back, just as he'll have mine. That's what a very difficult childhood does for many sibling sets.

1 younger brother lives about 90 minutes away. Seldom phones, we meet 2-3 times a year always when I organise and invite him for a meal. Haven’t been invited to his house for maybe 10 years…

Older sister never really see. Maybe twice a year. It's a long story. Younger brother I'm very close with. Holiday together with our families. Get on very well with his wife too. She's one of my closest friends.

Do you get on with his partners?

I have 7 siblings. Since the death of our sister our relationships with eachother have become strained.

Saying that my two brothers visited today and we sat and had lunch whilst ranking us all in order of who 'needs the most professional help' That was nice.

Twice a week is quite often for friends let alone siblings. You’re lucky you have a good relationship

Three brothers, two sisters. Daily with one sister, shared WhatsApp with the others with variable but very regular contact.

Sister I see once a year on average for a short time. Very sporadic contact in between. Brother never hear from now. He’s a recluse. I feel very sad about it.

Meet up with both sibs around every week/every other week and message in between. Sometimes we’ll go for lunch somewhere together or just grab a coffee. They’re a lot of fun to be around and supportive when times are tough.

I don't wish mine any badness, but I don't like her at all.

Quite a bitter, nasty person and used to pull me down a bit - accused me of being a drama queen whilst I was having chemotherapy and now tells people I said she only got pregnant because I had cancer and she felt like she wasn't getting enough attention.

Absolutely no truth in that, it was actually our aunty who came up with that sick little anecdote. Ironically, they're now the best of friends 🙃🙃

I hope she has a nice life, I'm just relieved I'm not a part of it. Which is sad, really!

Also, as our mother is 90, we share care and also meet regularly as a family, though we don't all live in the same city

My db lives 200 miles away but wecare close. I see him every couple of months for lunch. We text regularly - maybe twicw/three times a week. My ds lives around the corner, we see each other every couple of weeks but text multiple times a day - at least once. Both older and i love them both.

I see my younger sister, and younger brother, weekly when I’m the dutiful daughter visiting a rather toxic mother. Mother plays us all off against each other, so there’s sometimes friction. I feel though that when she dies, we will have a closer bond. It’s a shame that’s what it will take for us to have good relationships, but she’s lied so much (under the guise of being elderly and forgetful) that we don’t have a lot of trust in each other.

No contact. I have 2 sister and a brother. Brother is unpleasant and I've never had much of a relationship with him. Sisters are OK but I have no emotional bond or shared values so it was simpler to cut contact when I went nc with my parents.

One brother, not seen him or had any contact for about ten years. We are very different people.

Used to be very close, but due to who she got together with now not. It’s a shame really, but we did need more space away from each other to be our own people. Think it’s done her good in that way.

We chat via a family WhatsApp daily and see each other a few times a year. I’m the eldest and have a brother and a sister. We live spread out across the country two hours plus away from each other, and we all have busy lives with children and full time jobs, so that’s as much as we can manage. I’m the one who makes the most effort and travels to both but now I have small kids that limits what I can do.

I was very close to my sister growing up but less so now as an adult, I guess because we are quite different. Still get on very well though. The reverse is true for my brother who I had a more up and down relationship during our childhood but we are much better friends now and have similar interests, same aged kids etc. which has brought us closer together as adults.

I have very fond memories of my siblings in childhood - I can’t imagine what it would have been like without them. It was rockier during our teenage years but we emerged ok!

I really hope my DS and DD are close.