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  • Sibling Bond

     

    Recently we have been into Diwali and break and the pandemic and all of that has put so many things of our lives in perspective, things that we took for granted have suddenly come to the forefront.  

    One of the major things was the relationship that my children have with each other. Since they are young they used to always come to me for every little query. But lately, I have seen the difference in their behavior, they have started reaching out to each other first before coming to me. I see the two of them whispering to each other, giggling, and having their own idea of humor that I as an adult won’t understand. I stand afar and smile as I am happy to see their bond growing. They have a teenage cousin who is their go-to person and they have their own world that they are a part of.

    That gets me thinking about a relationship that siblings share. Something that I have been blessed with. The ongoing Harvard study is considered one of the world’s longest studies of adult life, what exactly is human happiness and what makes it so.

    Robert Waldinger, the director of that study has actually quoted that the relationships that we have in our life and the quality of it have a huge impact on our health. I wonder if we are really missing out on the relationship part of it.

    I am talking about it today because I want to understand, Do we adults have a role to play in it?  Bollywood movies to mythological stories all are full of sibling relationships. We have a lot to learn from each other when it comes to sibling love.

    As adults how do we influence it? Do we end up comparing our children and drive a wedge between their relationships? Or do we design experiences for them to learn from each other? I have also had parents who have come to GGIS for admission with both their children and the kids as young as 4 or 5 years take care of their younger sibling, there is so much love, and usually, there is so much disregard by the adult of this relationship.

    We need to introspect on what we are doing as adults to make sure that our children seek out each other even when they don’t have us around.

    What has your relationship been with your siblings? 

    Do you feel your parents could have made a difference in how the two of you look at each other?

    Do share your views with me, I would love to know more about your sibling story.

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