Do You Get Along with Your Siblings? - Richmond,VA

I only have one sibling, a sister, she is 2 years older than me...and we are very close!

I talk to her multiple times a day, I have helped her raise her two boys, my nephews, from the day she had them, they catch the bus and get dropped off by the bus at my house, and we have "family dinners" every Sunday night.

Funny thing is that we are completely opposites in EVERY way possible...but we get a long great, always have, always will!

Not only do I lover her, but I like her as a person! We would absolutely be friends if we were not related!

I have two sisters and love them dearly....We are very close...I talk to my twin daily and multiple times a day...My younger sis at least once a week....She's a busy gal and on the run but we have a great time together and can talk about anything and everything even if we don't agree :)

I have always gotten along well with my sisters. Two of us are close in age and the "baby" is way behind us! For that reason, I didn't really become "close" to my "baby sister" until we were both adults simply b/c she was 8 when I left for college and I wasn't there while she was growing-up. As for my other sister, we live very far apart but talk regularly about everything. We have always been "tight as rubberbands" and always will be, despite being very very different people.

Hi R., I have three sister and one brother.

54, 53, 50, 47, and 44 (me).

Through the decades we've had varying degrees of closeness. But there was never a time when any one of us 'didn't get along' with any other one.

My two oldest sister were inseperable when they were young, as were me and the next sister up. Last decade whoever it's shifted. Now I am closest to my oldest sister, and the two in the middle are closer.

My brother shakes his head and rolls his eyes at us, but makes his own effort to keep us close. No man in the world knows more about women than an only boy with four sisters!

We all have our quirks, we're all different kind of parents, into different things. The reason it works is we ALL try to let the differences go. We all try to come together on the common things, we all try to actually even LEARN from our differences, you know?

We spend a lot of time together. Our kids (although dramatically different) are close by choice now that they're older as well.

It's a rich life, I'm very fortunate to have such a large cheering squad behind me, and to have the chance to root them all on as well.

:)

My Sister and I fought like crazy in our teen years but we are now the best of friends.
My Brother (step ~ and only use the term for clarification) and I have never (and I'm serious) fought. He is my soul mate ~ if you believe you can have a soul mate other than your s/o or spouse.

I have 3 sisters and love them all to death, I would be their friend if we weren't sisters... I love family get togethers, I love every chance I do get to spend with them. Of course they have some quirks now and then, but as a person they are everything all blessings to me. As kids growing up, we fought, but I think most kids do, now they are my best friends and I'm lucky to have them as sisters too.

I have two younger sisters, one is 3 years younger and the other is 8 years younger and my situation is the same as yours. My sister who is 3 years younger has accomplished a lot in her career of which I am very proud of however, we have nothing in common. She doesn't have that personality that I would naturally gravitate towards. With her it's "work" to put it politely. Don't get me wrong, I love her but if weren't related I don't think we would be friends. As far my youngest sister, her and I get a long fine. We have more in common and we do gravitate towards each other very easily. I love both of my sisters and would do anything for them. It just happens that I get along easier with the youngest more than the other. Maybe it has do with the competition b/w us both growing up (we fought a lot). I didn't have that with the youngest because of the age difference. Good question. Makes one think.....

My sister was stillborn and my brother her twin died in a car accident 16 years ago. I never got to be an aunt and we were never able to have family get togethers and watch each others kids grow up. And now that our Mom is 94 and needs constant care I have to handle it alone. For everyone here who says they don't or won't get along with their siblings ~~ WAKE-UP~~!!
You are sooo fortunate to have siblings to share the joys and troubles of life with.

My sister and I were not always close in our 20s, but now in our 40s, we are very close. One of us would have to come totally unglued for that to change.

I didn't actually grow up with my brother (he became my step-brother when he was 10 and I was 22) and so....we don't talk a lot, but I love him dearly and we get along when we are together. And I only ever call him "step" as clarification; he always felt like my BROTHER, you know? I spent a lot of my 20s yelling at my Dad for being totally unfair to him. : )

I am hoping for at least this much closeness for my sons.

We "get along," but we aren't close. Like another mama, we have nothing in common but DNA. They both live within 20 minutes of my home and we go months without talking and generally only see each other on Christmas and Thanksgiving.

We were never close when we were young, either. Again, nothing in common. (and we are very close in age. A year between each of us.) This is on reason why I feel fine about wanting an only child. Having multiple kids, does not guarantee they will be close!!

I have a sister who is 4 years older than me, and no we do not get along very much. Never have. I don't know what her problem was when we were growing up, but if she ever got mad at me she would hit me or throw something at me. And I'm not talking about regular sibling rivalry - she was leaving marks & bruises on me. I think she was a teenager before my parents were finally able to get her to stop.

Once we weren't living together we could tolerate being around each other better. But we can't spend too much time together or I get extremely irritated with her... lol

Our brother though, he is a year older than me. I get along great with him. He & our sister also get along great.

Wish we knew what caused good or bad relationships with siblings so that we could help our kids get along! :)

No. I have one sister 22 months younger than me.
We are as different as day and night.
We never got along and we still don't.
It was a relief when she moved away from home.
She was glad to be away from me, too.
Last summer for the first time in 8 years we accidentally visited our mother at the same time. It was only a few days overlap, and I almost chewed off my own arm I wanted so badly to get away from her. My Mom was gripping the steering wheel so hard her knuckles were white - my sister was non stop rude.
Her daughter's a brat and my sister hates that my son has straight A's.
Any mention of his accomplishments is somehow an insult to her.
The only thing we can agree on is we can't stand each other.
Additonal:
ReverendRuby - you can have my sister. I'd pay you to take her. Since you didn't grow up with fist fights, endless hair pulling, non stop drama, never knowing if your stuff will be stolen or broken the minute you turned your back, you can NOT imagine how bad some siblings can be. I'm convinced she has an undiagnosed mental problem. My Mom thinks now that her hyperthyroidism is medicated she's better than she was, but it's not her only problem. I'm thinking borderline bi-polar, but she's her husbands problem now at least until they fight badly enough and the marriage ends.

I can honestly tell you that DNA doesn't make you a "family". There are no rules that states that you have to like your relatives. You get along with each usually for the sake of the "family" as a whole, or for the sake of the parents. Other than that, there's no obligations.

Every family has different circumstances that can add or take away from why relatives get along or not.

I have two older brothers from my mother's first marriage and we grew up together. The oldest brother is much older and is different than me and my other brother. At this point I don't speak to him unless I have to for the sake of my mother. He's the only one who still lives up where my mother lives. He lives in the same building and all. He's pretty useless and cares mainly about him. He's always been a "me" person.

My other brother is 1.5 yrs older than me and have become pretty close over the years. We get along because we want to.

My father remarried and had three more children. The oldest son is useless, drinks, beats his wife, etc, and we despise each other for obvious reasons. Then there's a sister whom we liked each other as kids but rarely saw each other even though my dad lived down the road from us. It took many years later but we are now close and wish we could have shared our childhood. Then there's another sister who is much younger. We have nothing in common and she only knows our father in old age and doesn't believe the horrid things he's done to the rest of us so we don't get speak. She tries but I can't have a relationship with her when she constantly calls me a liar and disrespects me.

So, out of 5 brothers and sisters, I am close to 2 out of choice, and am cordial to one out of necessity. I learned a long time ago that DNA doesn't make a family. I will not subject my family to BS. I will only be around people that will raise the quality of my life, not lower it. This is why I hadn't spoken to my own father in years, maybe almost 20 years before he passed away of cancer. To this day I wish he would have reached out at least at the end but refused. Looking back, my life was better without him in it.

K. B
mom to 5 including triplets

I have two older brothers. I love both of them, but I only like one of them. I have no shame in saying it either. lol.
I have lots of issues with the one I don't get along with. It would probably take a full day to explain them all. I've been told they are pretty entertaining stories though. There was a period of time where we tried to get along, and got close, but I realized he's never going to change so why waste my time and energy.
Life goes on. =)

I have 3 siblings. My oldest brother is 7 yrs older and I maybe only see him a couple of times a month, but I love him and he has a great wife and family (I see them more often lol) When we do meet up, its great and he is sooo generous. He also texts me about the latest book he has read (big book readers in my family) or a good movie he recommends. My other brother is 3 yrs older and he still stays at home with my mom and dad. He has Downes Syndrome. LOVE LOVE LOVE him. My whole family is so protective of him and he is the sweetest, most content, happiest person in the world. I see him a lot!! My sister who is also my twin , I see all the time. If we don't see each other everyday we at least talk on the phone. We are very different though. She is a SAHM with 2 kids and one on the way (YIPPEE!!!) So excited. And I work full time and have one child. I am more busy and organised and she is more laid back but has a beautiful tidy home. Our kids are so close, they are more like brother and sisters. I love my sister so much, she is my best friend and I don't know what I would do without her.

I'm lucky to be very close with my siblings. Ok not ALL of them :)
I'm #4 of 5.
ages: 30(girl),29(girl),28(boy),26(ME), 21(girl)
So we're all pretty close in age, except with the youngest.
Honestly she is the only "outcast" in the family. Me and my 3 older siblings are all really close. We talk almost every day. Sad thing is thought that My two of my siblings live in California, Two are in CHicago, and I'm in Ohio.
Personality wise, If we weren't related I'd still love to have them in my life. They are all really great, artistic,funny, loving people *cept for the youngest*
We also are really close with our mother. Our father...some of use get along with, others do not.
Me, personally, I don't talk to my dad. But that's a whole different post lol

My little sister....is an evil you know what. Not very found of her :)

I have a similar relationship with my sister that you do with your brother. I love her and am there for her when she needs me. But we have ABSOLUTELY nothing in common, never have. We're totally different people and wouldn't be friends if we weren't family, simply because we wouldn't run in the same crowd, have nothing in common, are totally different. It's normal. Just be there for him as his sister when he needs you.

I have an older step-sister - no BIO relationship, BUT we are super close. She's old enough to be my mom, but we have a sister relationship that is very close. We are very much alike, have the same likes, similar personality, and we even look more like sisters than I do with my bio-related sister.

Yes, I get along great with my brother and my two step sisters. We are all very different people but I love them and enjoy them greatly! I wish we got to see each other more often.

I have 2 older brothers.
My oldest brother (8 years older) and I are civil and are pretty good at "faking it." We get along on the surface, but are not very close. This is mostly because his wife does not like our family.
My middle brother (3 years older) and I are pretty close. We see eachother often and hug at every hello and goodbye. But, we have almost always been close. We still bicker like kids sometimes, but that's only because we are so alike.

Yes, but somewhere between my early college years and her late teens we had a falling-out such that we didn't attend each other's weddings, which is sad. I would be friends with her if we weren't related and I'm glad we repaired our friendship so we could be sisters again. She is a great aunt to my baby girl and we would all be missing out on so much if she and I weren't speaking. Our falling out had a lot to do with a little sister feeling under big sister's thumb and some difficulties with our then-stepfather. I think she needed her space and we both needed to grow up.

My family sounds like Bug's, we get along great at family holiday gatherings. But we don't talk much in between. I felt pretty close to them growing up (four of us born within 4 1/2 years) but our lives have taken different paths. My sister refuses to get on the Internet, and the rest of us don't like phone calling much, so we don't talk more than a couple times a year, outside of the gatherings I mentioned.

I also have an "only child" (her step-siblings are 17 and 20 years older than her) and am concerned about that at all.

Five years ago, my answer would have been totally different. My sister and I fought like cats and dogs growing up - so much that I've actually apologized to my mother, as an adult, for putting her through he!! all those years. As adults, we had nothing in common, I was a young wife and SAHmother, she married a bit later and they were a jet-setting double income couple for a while. I loved her because she was my sister, but aside from coming from the same womb, we really had nothing in common and would probably not have been friends. About 5 years ago, our relationship changed in a minute in a phone call that went like this: "K., guess what?" "You're pregnant!" "How did you...?! What the...?! I haven't told anyone!" "I just knew..." Although my niece was a total "oops" baby, she was the best thing to happen to our relationship. We are now best friends, she looks to me for advice and I admire her for working full time and raising her daughter. We talk everyday and see each other 4 - 5 times a week. Our husbands are also very close friends (we tease them about their "bromance"). My family and I moved from Colorado to Pennsylvania to be close to my sister and her family. The cousins LOVE each other. All is good! Five years ago I would have said "I have a sister, but I barely know her."

I also have a younger brother who lives in Japan with his wife and two little ones. I see them a few times a year, but Skype with them every couple of weeks. My little bro will always be that: my little bro, even though he's a foot and a half taller than me, even though he's a married man, even though he's got two children of his own, even though he's a self-made millionaire, he's still my little bro and I LOOOOOVE him!

My sister and I are only 13 years apart in age. We get along great, get together often with the kids and talk at least 3 times a week. We also only live about 20 minutes away from each other.

We're very different in some aspects, and don't have a lot in common, but we both love to laugh. Whenever we get together we always laugh to the point that we're crying!

there were 4 of us kids in my family. my older sister at the age of 36 died almost 20 years ago. but my brother never liked me growing up and liked my younger and old sister. now as adults my brother likes me but not my younger sister. i really have never cared for my younger sister. but one has to remember everyone is different and you'll never like everyone!!!

I will try to make my answer as short as possible. I am the youngest (8 & 11 yrs difference) 2 older brothers. My mother has and always will be the enabler. It is so sad but, I have finally realized not to have any expectations and I won't get hurt feelings with ALL of my family. My oldest brother and I haven't seen or spoken in atleast 2 yrs other than a short few minute passing at my mom & dads about a year ago. Would never choose to befriend him either way, very narcisitic individual. The other brother I actually feel as though he is my brother however, has addiction issues and hasn't been able to cope with life. I feel like the alien of the family so I just embrace my son and hubby and enjoy life with them. Try to keep the drama out and fight the genetic demons so to speak. I wish I did have better relationships with everyone in my family but realize that it's not me, and you can't have a one sided relationship. Hope I answered your question and didn't babble too much :)

Want to add...Sometimes relationships can be toxic. I saw a response that stuck out to me that said to **Wake Up** Everyone has their own situations and shouldn't be judged. With that said, I know I will be the child who cares for my mother and father when the time comes, alone.

I have two older brothers and they have always been and still are, my heroes.

my sis is going to turn 18 in a couple months, and I will be 26 latter this spring so we are 8 yrs apart and get along great she is one of my best friends. my cousin and I are closer in age and practically raised as siblings (I mean we didnt live in the same house but as much as we were at each others house it felt like it) we are 5mnths 24 days and 56minuts apart. and she IS my best friend. my brother and I have a better long distance relationship, we can not live in the same house together. when we were younger he was always calling me fat and when I developed an eating disorder he started calling my to thin and beanpole and what not. as long as we dont live in the same house we are fine, and right now he is in the army and is in italy so we get along great

Not really...I have one sibling whom I am in touch with through facebook and he is 9 years younger than me. We've been close over the years. I have an older sister by 2 years and we are not close. We were not when we were growing up. We got close in college and after college, but have grown very far apart. I have one more brother 3 years younger growing up we were close as he always wanted to play and my sister did not want to play. She just wanted to read. That brother and I do not have much in common. He is also really close to our parents and a few years ago they were involved in an issue with my son and now we are not close. Within the last two months I sent him an email and radio silence.
The way I look at it is their loss.

Hi R., in my family, I'm the one on the outside. I am just different than my three siblings and they sort of tolerate me, I think! :) But, we aren't close at all -- we hardly keep in touch except at family gatherings. It has always made me sort of sad, but I can't change who I am! And it's really not that I'm a terrible person -- we've never actually fought. I am just a different person largely in terms of views on religion, politics, etc. Also I am a lot younger than them, so I didn't really grow up with them or in their world. Oddly -- or maybe not -- I am more like my parents than I am like them, I think. Anyway, one thing that often happens with siblings is that they develop themselves to be opposite each other so as to have their own person/identity. Maybe that is what happened with your middle brother. My husband is also a bit of the outsider in his family, which is probably one reason we are together -- we understand each other. With our two kids, we really work to make them close siblings and to be tolerant of one another, so that they are close as adults. It's hard to tell if it will work, but we hope so! I want to mention that I really think that if it's possible, it's good to be close siblings (of course, that's obvious), but I mean, when my mother passed away, there was no one else, including spouses, who understood all the nuances to that loss, like my siblings. So, at these points in life, sibilings really need each other, I think. In that sense, I hope to teach my kids that maintaining good relationships with each other is practically as important as maintaining them with spouses or significant others.

I love my sister, but we have little in common beyond the gene pool.
She and I get along fine when we get together for family stuff, but we don't just hang out together.

i am the oldest of three. i have two younger siblings. my sister and i fought growing up..nothing serious, borrowing each other clothes without asking. my torturing her. we have evolved and i value our relationship. my brother and i are 9 yrs apart and we never really fought. he was always easy going even as a young child. all three of us are fairly similar in our values and i would be friends with both of them. i would be friends with all my cousins also.

R.

I am the baby of three....so it's ALL ABOUT ME!! (LOL!!)

Any way - I LOVE my sister and brother...my sister just left my home after 2 weeks of taking care of my after my hysterectomy. I had NOTHING to worry about - she took wonderful care of my men!!! I wouldn't know what to do without my sister - she is a best friend to me. We talk almost every day on the phone.

Does that mean we always see eye to eye? Nope. we don't but it's all good!!

My brother?! OOOH MY!!! I love him - I know I can go to him for anything and I know that if someone was trying to hurt me or my family - he like my sister would be standing either beside me or in front of me. My brother and I don't talk every day - but we do talk about once a month - I live on the East coast and he on the west coast!! so timing is everything!

Growing up i had no mother after the age of 8 Just my dad and my two brothers. Suddenly my brothers turned into two very different people. 1 tormented me endlessly, the other was like my best friend. Nothing has changed about that other than my one who tormented me doesnt anymore he grew up, we arent very close, although i try to fix that. The other one and i are still very close, up until he got married he was like a best friend, hanging out all the time, chatting it up on the phone, he even bought a house in my neighborhood. Now his wife and i talk more.

My other brother makes decisions i dont exactly understand, he has like 25 cats and a pot problem, his friends are complete losers. He also trys to give me advice on parenting , really bad advice, which i find irritating and odd since he has never had children.

The brother that i get along with have quite a bit in common, our humor, we are both vegetarians, and our basic veiwpoint on life is similar, probably because we were so close as children. he is a complete weirdo though, but in a good way.

I have 3 brothers (2 older, 1 younger) and we're all 2 yrs apart. It seems to fluxuate how close we are. For years, brother "C" and I were very close and did things together constantly. Then is sort of shifted to brother "G" then over the years again shifted to brother "B". So we're all on/off on how much we hang out etc, but over all brothers G and B and I are really close, brother C is always too busy.

Would I be friends were we not related, interesting question......Def with brother G although we do fight a bit (he's the younger bro!!), but to be honest, I'm not sure about the other 2. I love them, but one is a workaholic and his family is always busy busy busy with sports and are not flexible when trying to arrange dinner or movies, etc. And the other is more moody and on the lazy side. Not sure.

No not any more, my older brother is on "vacation" often. He has a drug problem and stole from both of my grandmothers when they were alive. Police even raided my grandmothers home and put her through h#ll. My step sister is younger, and she is a joke. She does not take care of anything (she does not cook, clean, or take care of her child) all she and her husband want to do is party.