Why are brothers and sisters so annoying? Why do siblings often look a lot alike? Why do siblings fight? Can your sister be your best friend? Why do we fight with our siblings even if we love them? But Why takes a look at the sibling relationship with Susan Dominus, author of The Family Dynamic.
Download our learning guides: PDF | Google Slide | Transcript
- In the United States, 80 percent of people have at least one sibling, according to census data.
- Child development research tends to focus on the relationships between parents and kids, but some studies suggest relationships with our siblings often have just as much of an impact on the development of social and literacy skills.
- There many different types of siblings: step siblings, full siblings, half siblings, foster siblings, etc. They all can have an impact on your development.
- Some siblings look similar to one another, and some don’t look anything alike. Genetics are complicated because even if you share both parents–and thus the same DNA sources–with your sibling, the genes you get are randomly assigned. So you won’t necessarily have the same eye, skin or hair color, be the same height, or share similar personality traits. And environmental factors can also influence your appearance (and your DNA).
- Siblings are family, but there’s also a peer dynamic. Learning to get along with your siblings helps you figure out how to get along with other people who are not in your family.
- As siblings get older, the power dynamic tends to even out and siblings will start to act more like equals to each other.
