DQ. #2

My parents had way more siblings than they did children...My mother is the youngest of 14 children and my father is one of six children. Both sets of my grandparents were at least one of five. I have one child and while I really do not want to have another child...I am pretty sure I can at least expect one more so that my son has a sibling. I have witnessed the relationships my grandparents and parents have with their siblings and for my parents it is one of many phases. Both my mother and father get along with all of their siblings, but it is apparent that some are closer than others and some they get angrier at one another more often. With my grandparents I have never witnessed an argument or any kind of disagreement in person. But what I have noticed is that they know how one another are set in their ways and even if they do not agree they still are willing to accept. They talk on the phone often and make plans to spend a day together. While all of my aunts and uncles, (who are my grandparents children), are too busy with work and with their own children, my grandparents are visiting and spending time with their own siblings because they too are in the same situation. The text stated that many older people have a sibling that lives nearby and they generally maintain contact with one another (Hillier, S.M. & Barrow, G.M. 2007), and for my family it seems to be true. I think that the effect of having siblings can go further that just the children growing up in the same home as kids, it is a lifetime partnership that continues through old age. I only have one sister that I have not particularly gotten along with our whole lives, but as we get older the closer I have witnessed us become. Even though all siblings can be either best friends or arch enemies you still know that they are your blood and you share a bond that you do not share with any other person in this world and they always can be seen as some type of support system.



Hillier, S.M. and Barrow, G.M. (2007).  Aging, the

 individual and society.  Belmont, CA:  Thomson/Wadsworth.