Age and family structure matter (Sibling Rivalry!)

Member Name: sympatic

Product:	Sibling Rivalry!
Date:	10/01/09 (48 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Competition can be good

Disadvantages: Can manifest itself in a unhealthy manner

I think that sibling rivalry certainly has a lot to do with the age gap that you have between children and also in these modern times of broken families whether or not both of the siblings sare the same number of parents in the family unit, in a sense I have experienced both types, I had a brothe who was only a couple of years older than me and we lived with my father and step mother (she is the person I consider my mother though as she raise us when our biological mother walked out) however Dad also had another child with her as well however there was a good nine year gap between us.

In our family the sibling rivalry was always betwen my brother and me as we were so similar in age it felt like we had the same emotional needs for many years and as such were competing for attention and affection, looking back it seems strange because we were never short of either from both of our parents it was just something that was ever present, my attempts to out do him academically and sorting while he sort to assert dominance as the older child.

There were no such issues with my younger sister, rather she as the baby of the family got attention from everyone and I never really experienced that middle child thing of being neither one thing or the other such was the age difference.

Like all things time resolved any issues in our family and now my brother and I are really close and I speak and see him probably the same if not more than my parents, indeed he dated and married one of my best friends.

Summary: Sibling rivalry