I was talking with Jocelyn the other day about sibling relationships. We were talking about how our parents handled or didn't handle sibling rivalry and how that may have affected our later relationships with our siblings. This is important to me because my parents, as I recall, never really stopped me from teasing my sister, and didn't really talk to me about respecting my younger sister. And to this day, I don't have a close relationship at all with my sister. I can't help but think that my disrespecting her when we were young has had some impact on how we relate to each other as adults, and maybe even how she relates to people she does have relationships with.
Because of my own experiences, Tim and I try really hard to talk to our kids about their treatment of each other. Despite years of talking about it, there isn't any visible difference in their behavior to each other, but Jocelyn said she thinks it will make a difference later in life.
I'm curious what you all think about this. Did your parents leave you all to work it out for yourselves or did they try to explain how respect for each other is important because it will affect future relationships with each other and those you love? Do you feel there is a relationship between how your parents handled your arguing with siblings and your current relationship with them? Do you think that the way your parents handled sibling rivalry has had any impact on how your love and friendship relationships have gone?
Linda
