How Do Siblings Influence One Another?
Do you have a brother or sister? If so, can you recall lessons learned under the tutelage of that sibling? Did you teach your siblings life lessons, good or bad? Some families joke about the negative influence of one child on another. Some speak with pride of how a brother or sister served as a mentor. When you are around families, take note of who the children are watching and what they seem to glean from each of their relationships. From adults, children learn of their importance within the family system. A child’s sense of belonging stems largely from the strength or weakness of the parent-child relationship. The responses adults offer children—rewards, reinforcement, criticism, punishment—teach what is allowed or disallowed. Kids learn what elicits pleasing parental reactions and disapproving reactions. By default, adults are the leaders of the family and set the tone for how a child is managed. But siblings learn lessons from one another that parents can’t teach. A fourteen year o
