On my daughter Rachel’s last day here before she headed back to Germany, we went on a short hike and then stopped for Happy Hour at one of our favorite eateries — Gustavs — for cheese fondue and potato pancakes. Some friends of my twins had texted them about attending the 
football game later that day, yet I was hesitant because it was Rachel’s last day with us for a while, and they had just had those same friends over the night before for their birthday party.
Plus, I was really looking forward to a nice evening at home, playing games and watching a movie, and just relaxing on Rachel’s last evening with us. A family night. A time to shut out the world for my daughter, the only sister of my other kids.
So, I nicely said that we really want to have a family night and could they just tell their friends that is what we were doing. There were plenty of games ahead for them to attend.
I know that my twins’ friends have said that their friends cannot do things sometimes due to a family commitment and sometimes they just say they cannot do something for other reasons. It’s what families do.
It is very important that we show our kids that they need to make their siblings valuable by making them a priority. Siblings — their brothers and sisters are the ones who will be there in the end.
Friends are huge in our lives. I totally believe that. But in the end, friends come and go but your sister and brother will be there for a lifetime. Hopefully they will be your best friends.
At least, that is my goal by insisting we carve out time to be together.
Same principals applied when my 12-year-old son Gus asked if he could attend a Young Life event on the same night that his twin brothers were turning 18. I reminded him of his brothers’ 18 th birthday. Gus said that he wouldn’t be missed at the party, that they would have their friends and other family there, and that it didn’t matter whether he was there or not.
I said it did matter.
“It matters because they are your brothers and that is what brothers do.”
Siblings support one another and they are loving to one another and they care for one another.
They attend one another’s birthday parties and special events. And last evenings at home. To just hang out and be together.
It’s what we do, our family, and it is an important part of my parenting philosophy, it is part of our family culture, the way we function, the way we live. It’s what we do.
What do you do as a parent to help siblings support one another? How do you create sibling friendship. How do you create family closeness?
[This post is Number 6 in #Write31Days October challenge which I am joining at my own pace: Check out the links to my other posts hereFinding Your Parenting Philosophy- Write31Days]
Lovely article, Nellie! Thank you for this important reminder and beautiful example within your own, wonderfully close-knit family. 🙂 It’s so important to foster those sibling relationships right from the start, so they become a deeply ingrained priority in our children’s thought process. Seemingly “little” decisions like choosing a family dinner over a game night with friends go a long way towards laying a foundation of trust and closeness that will, hopefully, last a lifetime. <3