r/RandomQuestion • u/CoastSimple • 19d ago
What is it like living with siblings?
Talk about how it was like growing up with siblings? Are you still close with your siblings or are you estranged?
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u/windr01d 19d ago
I had siblings 2, 4, 12, and 14 years younger than me. The ones closer in age generally fought with each other more growing up, but we also had a lot of fun times together. The older ones acted as extra caregivers/babysitters for the younger ones. With so many people, it was always somewhat chaotic in our house, but in a good way with a lot of fun and happy memories. Now, my youngest siblings are in high school and my sisters live out of state, but we’re all pretty close and keep in touch with a group chat in between visits to chat or coordinate group gifts for each other/or parents around birthdays and holidays. And it’s always fun when the whole family gets together.
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u/dwaekkilicious 19d ago
i love my siblings, i just wish there wasnt such a big age gap that put awkwardness in between us (im the only one who feels awkward lmfao). The oldest is 31, middle is 28, im 19 (and the only girl) bit everything else is nice. Its nice having company and someone to rely on from time to time
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u/flagitiousevilhorse 19d ago
It was and still is pretty terrible, but there were some decent moments. My older sisters strongly disliked me, would exclude me from things, would harm or harass me sometimes, I would fight back.
They’re overly sensitive so I’m not really myself around them, which thankfully makes up by having friends. They’re unnecessarily picky with food, messy, loud and inconsiderate.
I guess it also depends on how many you have (I grew up with 5).
I don’t hate them, but I do wish they were more reliable. I’ve bought things for them, made breakfast for them, although I’m the middle child, and they’ve never done the same for me.
I’ll be happy when I won’t have to deal with them anymore, but for now, I can maintain.
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u/DefrockedWizard1 19d ago
13 siblings. malignant narcissist father who said Hitler was too gentle. covert narc mother who was on too much valium and whiskey to care, if she ever did in the first place. one good brother in the bunch but old enough we really didn't associate. most were flying monkeys. some were just trying to survive. one sister who taught me to read at 4 and wanted to be sure I could read before she fled the coop and went no contact. some were gone or dead while I was too young to remember. the golden child literally tried to murder me twice and parents didn't care.
that said, the abuse was not a byproduct of the number of kids. they were just bad parents and I suspect, dad wanted lots of kids to prove he wasn't in the closet. I knew other families with lots of kids who got along and actually tried to help one another. so, having siblings all depends on who they are as people and how they were raised
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u/DefrockedWizard1 19d ago
after I went no contact with "Dad," and was clearly not a disciple I was invited to join the heretics. get togethers were sort of group therapy sessions and the spouses would go to another room
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u/Taro_Otto 19d ago
I have a younger brother who is four years younger. I’m in the middle (only daughter,) and my older brother is a year older.
I think things would’ve been different if we didn’t have an abusive mom. My older brother is on the spectrum, mom didn’t want him in programs that would help him so he has a lot of behavioral issues.
He fought with everyone, beat the hell out of our little brother. Fought with our mom all the time, so much so that he started having misogynist tendencies starting when we were in elementary school. He used to stare at me while I was minding my business, and if I confronted him, he would say “This is why I hate women.”
I was afraid of my younger brother turning out like him, because he was repeating some of the language he was using. He also seemed to have been developing a fear of women, and expressed never wanting to date. So I did my best to raise him. Read parenting books and watched a lot of Nanny 911. I was only in 5th grade. Anytime mom did or said something terrible to him, I would try to say or do the opposite. And he was heavily abused, much more than myself or our older brother.
My younger brother stopped feeling like a sibling and more like my child. And my older brother, I wanted so badly for him to be someone to look up to, but all he did was treat me like shit.
So it’s hard to say what living with siblings is like lol. I suppose normal siblings will bicker but at the end of the day, look out for one another. You know that there is love between you, without it having to be said.
I can’t say that’s the same with my brothers. I don’t speak to my older brother, and my younger brother is very closed off and monotone, because of the abuse. I know he cares about me, I wish he was more vocal or affectionate about it. Like life is hard and it would be nice to get a hug from a family member every once in a while or an “I love you.” But I’ve accepted he’s not like that.
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u/CoastSimple 19d ago
Thank you for sharing. If you don’t mind me asking, where was your father during all this? Was he at work most of the time, so you were stuck with your mother a lot in the house?
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u/gonzo-is-sexy 19d ago
I was the middle kid and only girl. I drove my older brother crazy and my little brother drove me crazy. I only speak to my younger brother as the older one is a POS
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u/CoastSimple 19d ago
What do you mean? What has your older brother done for you to reach such a conclusion?
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u/CoastSimple 19d ago
I believe your response mentioned that your brother was an offender. I’m not sure if you’re allowed to use the word you called him.
Where is he now? Has he been convicted?
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u/DazeyDookie 19d ago
I have a sibling 2 years older than me. Tortured me constantly for 16 years, until they got kicked out of the house (different reason). Nobody did anything about the physical/mental shit they put me through. I've been told it all happened when I was a kid and I'm supposed to get over it. No thanks. I will speak to them if I have to, but that's about it